lord khram
Contributor
We dived the Similans , Ko Lanta , Ko Phi Phi in early 2009 , again at Christmas 2009 and Christmas 2010. Each time there were fewer fish , more and more dead coral and more fishing boats than on the previous trips. There was a coral bleaching in mid 2010 that seems to have completely thrashed the reefs we saw. It was our personal opinion that lndonesia , Malaysia and the Philippines have far far better diving that Thailand. The difference between how the Malaysian government manages Sipadan and how the Similans is managed is startling.
I love Thailand , the food , the people , the jungle areas and the north ...but the dive sites need some serious protection ASAP.
Unfortunately this sort of thing is endemic in Thai society, not just diving / marine park issues. Most seem to only care about the quick profit they can make today and don't consider tomorrow until it arrives.
With more and more mass tourism being encouraged, if what you are saying is general, then the future does indeed not look good for the future of the marine environment.