Tsunami damage to coral reefs Phuket/Similans.

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MoonWrasse

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From my personal diving experience of February and November last year, much or all of the tsunami debris seems to have been cleared off the reefs. I've also seen (at least what looks like) the coral seeding in place.

Experts discuss tsunami damage to coral

PHUKET CITY: Some 13% of reefs inspected after the tsunami had 50% or more of their coral destroyed by the waves, experts from Japan and Thailand, as well as local divers, were told yesterday at a seminar at the Phuket Merlin Hotel. In many other places, however, the coral was undamaged.

Spearheading the seminar was Sakanan Plathong. He led a team of volunteer divers and staff from the Coral Reef and Benthos Research Unit (CRBRU) of the Department of Biology at Prince of Songkla University, Haad Yai Campus, who surveyed reefs along the Andaman Sea coast between December 30, 2004, and January 15, 2005.

Benthos is a term used in marine biology to refer to animals and plants living in, or on, or just above the seabed.

K. Sakanan said that, at the popular Similan Islands, dive sites off Island No 9 had suffered the most damage from the tsunami. However, he added, 70%-90% of the coral in the park had survived intact.

He explained that, in order to rejuvenate the coral as quickly as possible, the CRBRU organized teams of divers to clean debris from reefs, and has taken longer-term steps to protect the coral, including closing some dive sites, monitoring sea water quality and installing artificial reefs.

“The initial recovery process involves volunteers and divers from marine foundations. They are assigned to help surviving coral to recover by fixing iron frames to the seabed so the corals are not drawn away by the current.

“After this first phase, we use other methods, including attaching frames made with quick-drying cement or epoxy resin.

“We have already saved about 250 colonies, but we have about 500 more colonies to follow up on,” K. Sakanan said.

Marine Operations Center Chief Somkiat Soonthornpithukkul – to whom all marine national park chiefs in the Andaman region report – said that officers at the Similan National Park have been focusing on reviving coral reefs at Fantasy Rock and at Islands 1, 2 and 3, which have been closed since 1999.

“But other dive sites in the park are still open for divers,” he added.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/news/index.asp?id=4807
 
I had read at one time there was an effort underway by the REEFBALL to assist with coral reseeding and reef building. I have not seen any information about this in the trade rags.....anyone?

www.panayexplorers.com
 
MoonWrasse:
Marine Operations Center Chief Somkiat Soonthornpithukkul – to whom all marine national park chiefs in the Andaman region report – said that officers at the Similan National Park have been focusing on reviving coral reefs at Fantasy Rock and at Islands 1, 2 and 3, which have been closed since 1999.

“But other dive sites in the park are still open for divers,” he added.
QUOTE

The amazing thing is that Islands 1 and 2 AND Fantasea Reef (NOT Rock!) never had much damaged coral in the first place. Only Island 3 had large bad sections and never has been a popular dive site anyway. By closing Island 1 and 2 and Fantasea Reef now for 6 (!) years the still open sites in the Similans are now being over-dived by an ever increasing fleet of dive boats and divers. I'm ALL for protecting the reefs and coral revivement BUT it looks to me that we are now doing the opposite at all the still open dive sites.

Another thing that is absolutely unbelievable and completely ignored by the dive industry and National Park is that it's still common practice to tie moorings up on LIVE coral heads/bommies.
Those beautiful bommies are getting a severe beating with lines scraping over their surface and sometimes bommies even break off and are being dragged over other still LIVE coral.

AAAARGH!!!!
 
I think the "reefball" project is a Koh Lanta operation at the moment. From the location they started I am not 100% sure if it is "post Tsunami" reseed or just seed, as the area they chose was pretty much only sand (admittedly I am not very good at UW navigation) last time I was there anyway.

Even so hats off to them and the hotel that is sponsoring it. Saying this I would dearly love to see the likes of reefball offer more company generated funding options as I know a Thai group that was interesting in seeding a gulf area but the reefball costs (it's patented for some reason) prohibited them from working up a project.
 

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