Diving in the land of smiles.

[Bowmouth]

Although Thailand offers some incredible diving it is sad to see that so many of the Andaman Sea dive sites are over crowded with boats and divers. It is not unusual to have at least 5 or 6 large liveaboards at the same time at the same site with each up to 16-20 divers in the water. Richelieu Rock, Hin Daeng, Hin Muang, Ko Bon, Ko Tachai and sites in the Similans as well can be VERY crowded and even unpleasant to dive at times. Large liveaboards often tend to use the main vessel to pick up and drop off their divers and will come with turning propellors right over the divesite scaring the heck out of divers still under the water. Some sites have moorings in the very shallows where boats will hook up to and spend the whole day laying right above the site casting shadows on the reef and disturbing divers and marine life with their generators and engines.
Many Phuket based dive operators seem to be either unaware of the problems that occur or just don't care about their customers safety and pleasure at all. Few liveaboards will anchor well away from the reef and use skiffs (inflatables) for dropping and retrieving their divers. Also, few vessels do have proper safety equipment on board and there's even boats that let their divers touch or sit/stand on live coral, harass marine life and (seem to) promote overweighting.
Ofcourse there are also some very good operators but I like to focus here on the vast amount of "bunk-aboards" that just don't seem to care. Personally I find it extremely frustrating that so many live aboard operators seem to get away with it all so easily. If dive operators would try a little bit harder and care a little bit more about their divers and the marine environment the diving could be SO much better!

I love Thai diving but it's getting way too crowded and very unsafe; dive operators should get their act together, work together and really do something about the problems soon.

 

[malaysia-islands]

Thanks for the heads up bowmouth. I for one would be really interested to dive in Similan.

I guess when a certain place gets too popular, this is bound to happen.

 

[Bowmouth]

The worst thing is that there's very little cooperation between the dive operators in Phuket and most just do their own thing rather than working together on safety and environmental issues. In the past there was an active Dive Operators Club of Thailand (DOCT) taking several very good initiatives and organizing dive related events in Phuket but the DOCT has basically ceased to exist. Too many opinions and too few people really wanted to be involved in stepping up for the Dive Operators and divers interests.
It's an outright shame that the dive operations in general nowadays are so little involved with good projects for both the environment and general diver safety.

 

[bayswaterbabe]

Although Thailand offers some incredible diving it is sad to see that so many of the Andaman Sea dive sites are over crowded with boats and divers. It is not unusual to have at least 5 or 6 large liveaboards at the same time at the same site with each up to 16-20 divers in the water. Richelieu Rock, Hin Daeng, Hin Muang, Ko Bon, Ko Tachai and sites in the Similans as well can be VERY crowded and even unpleasant to dive at times. Large liveaboards often tend to use the main vessel to pick up and drop off their divers and will come with turning propellors right over the divesite scaring the heck out of divers still under the water. Some sites have moorings in the very shallows where boats will hook up to and spend the whole day laying right above the site casting shadows on the reef and disturbing divers and marine life with their generators and engines.
Many Phuket based dive operators seem to be either unaware of the problems that occur or just don't care about their customers safety and pleasure at all. Few liveaboards will anchor well away from the reef and use skiffs (inflatables) for dropping and retrieving their divers. Also, few vessels do have proper safety equipment on board and there's even boats that let their divers touch or sit/stand on live coral, harass marine life and (seem to) promote overweighting.
Ofcourse there are also some very good operators but I like to focus here on the vast amount of "bunk-aboards" that just don't seem to care. Personally I find it extremely frustrating that so many live aboard operators seem to get away with it all so easily. If dive operators would try a little bit harder and care a little bit more about their divers and the marine environment the diving could be SO much better!

I love Thai diving but it's getting way too crowded and very unsafe; dive operators should get their act together, work together and really do something about the problems soon.

You may wish to forward your concerns to the Governor of Phuket Province who I believe is keen to address the very problems you have highlighted.

 

[orangelemon]

Interesting to hear some genuine concern about Diving problems in Thailand, indeed it is an ongoing problem around the world's top diving locations (The Red Sea, Thailand and Mexico are my main experiences of 'popular' dive locations) I have experienced massive overcrowding over popular dive sites and have seen 20 liveaboards and day boats over the Thistlegorm in the Red Sea, therefore I dont see Thailand as deserving of particular criticism although dive operators the world over could probably do more to consolidate their day boats on a daily basis. This would ensure that only the very minimum amount of boats are sent to dive sites depending on the amount of divers wanting to go on particular days, meaning they could spread the divers over the minimum number of boats, obviously ensuring that the boats aren’t overcrowded.

The one thing that we can stop immediately and with very little effort is to chastise and discourage people from touching / standing on or indeed taking anything from the marine environment. The reason that so many Instructors let this behavior go unchecked is that these very people pay their wages and fear being left without repeat visits, recommendations and tips if they ‘educate’ their diving customers. I for one, ensure my opinion on marine life respect is given with emphasis on the long term health of my customer and fish life, which seems to go down better than just, telling people not to touch. The exceptions are obviously man left items like plastic bottles / lines / glass that I for one ensure I put in my BCD pocket if I encounter any of them. It is common knowledge among Instructors and Dive Operators that certain nationalities are notorious for abusing the underwater environment; perhaps dive training agencies could target these nations with dive education programs.

I am very impressed with the Thai's attitude and work (protection) of the marine parks and have seen first hand their reactions to reports of abuse I have witnessed their work, when they came out to join the day boats recording and checking out immediately reports that they received about some divers damaging coral. I do agree that these countries that are blessed with exceptional diving conditions are starting to put measures in place to ensure that these diving conditions are going to be continued and in the case of Thailand's diving environment actually improved to ensure the continued enjoyment for divers and to safeguard the diving industry in their countries that provides valuable income and jobs for a vast amount of people.

I for one will do all I can to ensure diving in Thailand will remain safe and promote good diving practices that promotes the health and connectivity of the diving sites around these fantastic Islands.