Coral Bleaching in the Andaman?

[broadreach]

Bangkok Post published a story today about a new threat of coral bleaching in the Andaman
Andaman Sea coral reefs hit by bleaching

So those of you who dive frequently in the Andaman - how serious is this? Have you noticed damage on the reefs?

 

[stevenl]

I have the feeling that at the moment there is bleaching going on. It is very hot, and also the sea water is warmer than usual. Let the rains come quickly!!

 

[Quero]

I have noticed some bleaching of staghorn corals recently. The water is very, very warm. My dive computer has been registering water temps of 31°.

 

[Poggus]

Was thinking about this post today while I was fun diving Racha Yai Island, so I snapped some photos.. The bleaching is very bad in some places.

 

[Arizona]

Last weekend at the Kram it was 32c at 27m. Warmest I have seen it so far.

 

[Ringo]

One of the Instructors on our team went to Racha 2 days ago and the water temp was also 32 degrees C....unfortunately he also saw that many of the corals were bleached.

 

[daveray]

IN the Gulf of Thailand to there is the beginning of bleaching. It is similar temperatures to 1998 La Nina/El Nino effect which brought bleaching throughout the tropics. Would this be the same cycle?

 

[JTinSD]

What's the latest on coral bleaching? When I was in the region in Feb-Mar, coral at the Similans was affected, as well as the usual daytrip sites from Phuket.

I was in Bali in July, and did not notice any bleaching, although the water temps were in the 22/23 range, not the 29/30 I saw in Thailand in Feb-Mar.

I will be back in Phuket for a short time in early November, and it would be nice to have some local input:

1. How warm is the water?
2. Is the bleaching worse/same/better?

It's not about me coming to Thailand or not depending on the condition of the coral. I will be in Thailand once or twice a year regardless. It would just be nice to know the reality of conditions.

 

[Quero]

Jim, the bleaching was a single, massive event. At present, the water is a normal temperature for us at about 29°. At the time of the bleaching event, the water temperatures were well over 30° for a sustained period. As for the coral itself, what died remains dead. There is some new coral growth taking place, and in a few years we should have all of our coral forests back to what they once were. The forests that suffered the worst damage are in the shallow areas.

(To get those temperatures in Bali in July, I'm guessing you were diving at Penida? The Indonesia Throughflow current passes right there and the water tends to be quite a lot cooler where that current runs as it brings up cold water from very deep areas.)

 

[stevenl]

The corals are recovering surprisingly bfast. It looks like in certain areas, especially Similans, there was quite a lot of new soft coral growth. Looking forward to seeing the development there after not being able to dive there for many months now.

At the local Phuket daytrip sites there was damage, especially at Racha Yai and one of the Phi Phi sites, but also there things are looking a lot better already, so I'm really optimistic about the future here.