Andaman Closures?

[limbo]

Haven't heard anybody from Koh Tao on this. According to this article, all of Koh Tao will be closed down.

maybe I will get some more people in my IDC's on Samui after all, I'm all for it

 

[limbo]

Leave it to the Thai government to annouce sweeping policies without any details and creating mass confusion and uncertainty. Thanks to a culture that doesn't promote open discussion, we get, half baked, poorly thought out, policy initiatives, however well intended. Then we have a culture of face saving, preventing people from backing down from their position. You would hope that they would at least let this season end and have discussion on what to do about next season.

Good observation and well said.

 

[Quero]

Haven't heard anybody from Koh Tao on this. According to this article, all of Koh Tao will be closed down.

From The Nation

The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) has recommended that 10 diving sites inside marine national parks be closed so damaged coral reefs can recover.

The sites are Hin Klang off Phi Phi, Mae Yai Tai Peninsula off North Surin Island, the area to the east of South Surin Island, Chong Khad Bay off North Surin Island, Kangkao and Pai Islands in Chon Buri, Yak Island in Trat, Chaloke Ban Kao Bay, Tanod Bay and Surat Thani's Nuansai Beach.

 

[limbo]

From The Nation

From the post #25;

The diving sites facing temporary closure to allow coral to recover from bleaching are located in Hat Nopparattara-Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park in Krabi; Mu Koh Surin Marine National Park (Phangnga); Mu Koh Rang National Park (Trat); Koh Tao (Surat Thani); and Koh Pai and Koh Kang Kao (Chon Buri).

 

[Quero]

There's clearly some contradictory reporting, but it did seem to me that the Nation list was somehow more specific. In addition to those two reports that don't match up, yet another report, from the Phuket Gazette states:

there will be no request to close the reefs off Phi Phi Island and Maithon Island

while the other two sources do name Phi Phi NP sites. Still very confusing...

 

[JTinSD]

This is just a data point. I am not trying to argue for or against going to Thailand to dive. This is my personal take on the situation as a diver from outside the SEAsia region who has saved money for a trip and will be coming over to dive there.

I have been traveling to the region for almost 40 years, first to Thailand, and in the last 10 years to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and of course, more Thailand. I only got scuba certified the end of 2009. My upcoming trip will be my first to the region as a diver.

I’ll be spending 3 weeks in Thailand in Feb-Mar, including 10 days of diving from Phuket. I am going with a few friends who have never been to Thailand, I have a great agent in Phuket, friends living in Phuket and Bangkok and am looking forward to a wonderful time. I started planning this trip last June.

All that said, if I were looking at dive destinations in the region now, Thailand would not be my first choice. I am nothing if not adaptable, but the misguided and heavy-handed (though quite possibly well-meaning) Thai governmental approach to preserving the marine environment really has me second-guessing my decision to come there to dive.

And the media coverage doesn’t help: “Will Close Andaman.” “Diving paradises may be closed.” “Similan and Surin Diving Paradises May Be Closed.” “Dept presses ahead with dive site closures.” “Thailand: Banning divers to save coral.” “Reefs ruined: dive sites face closure.” Nothing like typical media sensationalism of even more typical political bloviation to put the worst possible spin on any situation.

What I am trying to say is, I am still coming to Thailand to dive, and I know I will have a great time, but wow, this all looks really bad to someone living outside the region. This is not going to be good for the Andaman side dive operators and other visitor-based enterprises. The image of Andaman diving has suffered a hit, and like with the coral bleaching, the damage is done, and it will take time to heal.

If you want to argue the last point, help yourself, but IMO you are wasting your breath. Better to face the situation and work toward a solution than deny that there is a problem.

Dive operators can outfit all vessels with septic holding systems, prohibit trash dumping (including cigarette butts), subscribe to a permitted diver system (ala Sipidan), support and help pay for mooring blocks on sites and just generally clean up their side of the street. Or they can point fingers at fishing boats and corrupt officials.

See you all in about a month!

 

[Arizona]

Some do miss the point that trash is a global issue just like climate change IMO. Dive boats can add to the problem but all the plastic crap used daily in Thailand for food and drink contributes massively to the issue for example. This really needs to be tackled on many levels (domestic/international). Closing some sites may actually help, but of course as others have stated fishing can be even worse left virtually unregulated during the dive season.

 

[Quero]

Nothing like typical media sensationalism of even more typical political bloviation to put the worst possible spin on any situation. The image of Andaman diving has suffered a hit, and like with the coral bleaching, the damage is done, and it will take time to heal. If you want to argue the point, help yourself, but IMO you are wasting your breath. Better to face the situation and work toward a solution than deny that there is a problem.

Well said, JT.

And, here's today's news report: The Nation: "Closing Marine Parks Won't Save Coral"--Director General Sunant.

The National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department will not close all the marine national parks along the Andaman Sea coast to save damaged coral reefs from bleaching.

"Closing the marine national parks will not help the coral reefs recover from bleaching," the Department's Director General Sunant Arunnopparat said. The Marine and Coastal Resources Department prepared a report on the coral reef bleaching in the marine national parks and asked the Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation to close them to help their recovery.

Sunant said he had instructed officials to survey the bleached areas and report the findings to him. He will today call on all marine national park heads to meet with University academics and other experts to find out answers to the coral reef bleaching situation. "I think there is no need to close the marine national parks to relieve the damaged coral. This measure would not help too much at this time," Sunant said. "We should find other measures to reduce the impact by asking people not to disrupt nature. Closing the parks would cause a lot of impact," he added. He said prevent tourist to enter into the bleaching areas would be proper measure to recover coral reef from bleaching.

During a trip to survey the coral reef bleaching at these two islands, a group of foreign tourists swimming and snorkelling around Koh Hey were seen breaking and destroying live coral. "This bad behaviour was caused by the tour company which did not explain how to be a good tourist. They should explain how to dive in a fashion friendly to the coral reef," Niphon said. "We must train guides urgently," he added. The department will organise training for tour guides in three provinces including Krabi, Phangnga, and Phuket next month.

So it looks like the DG asked for a report, and before he was able to formulate a policy in keeping with the findings, his subordinate released a statement that got everybody in a panic.

I think Wat and JT are correct--the news was premature and as such has already damaged the tourism sector for at least a little while. But some good can come of it, too. The news report I link to above makes clear for anybody who knows our area that by mentioning Koh Hei tourists, they are referring to snorkelers. Scuba diving operators simply don't go there routinely. If there is going to be some kind of training effort for these snorkel guides, it can only be a positive step. For my part, I'm hoping to soon have the means of introducing some coral monitoring projects with my students and fun divers. That way, when we come upon a stand of corals, we can examine their health and report our finding to a research organization. It may be a small effort, but as the organization I'm using says, there aren't enough scientists to do the monitoring, which makes ordinary divers a key element in coral health research.

 

[Buadhai]

And, AFAIK, Channel 3 has done no follow-up to their original, rather sensational report.

As an aside, here are the two lead headlines on The Nation's RSS feed this morning:

Wall St ends down

Wall St ends up

 

[watboy]

Not the Nation is a far better news site than, The Nation.