Thailand Shuts 12 Marine Parks to Tackle Coral Bleaching Crisis

[webfact]

Picture courtesy: National News Bureau of Thailand

 

In response to a serious coral bleaching crisis sparked by rising sea temperatures from the El Niño weather phenomenon, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has taken decisive action.

 

They've closed down 12 national marine parks, including big names like Mu Koh Chang and Ao Phang Nga, aiming to halt further harm to coral ecosystems that began showing alarming signs of bleaching back in April. This tough measure is set to stay in place until July.

 

Leading the charge in damage assessment are key figures like Natural Resources and Environment Minister Pol. Gen. Patcharawat Wongsuwan and Department of Marine and Coastal Resources Deputy Director-General Chidchanok Sukmongkol.

 

The Gulf of Thailand is bearing the brunt of the bleaching, with a shocking 50% of its coral reefs hit, compared to 20% in the shallower waters of the Andaman Sea.

 

This environmental crisis has sparked widespread concern among marine experts and the public alike, raising urgent questions about the future of marine life in the region.

 

Pol. Gen. Patcharawat stresses that closing these parks is just one part of a larger strategy. It's aimed at giving the reefs a chance to recover from the intense heat stress that's been wreaking havoc on coral health.

 

This closure period also buys time for officials to come up with lasting solutions to this ongoing environmental challenge.

 

-- 2024-05-13

 

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[zakalwe]

A tough measure lasting all of 2 months.

[Robert Paulson]

If anyone actually wants to help fix the ocean or coral or whatever the hell else, start with trash and plastics 

[BritManToo]

21 minutes ago, Robert Paulson said:

If anyone actually wants to help fix the ocean or coral or whatever the hell else, start with trash and plastics 

 ....... and sewage.

[JensenZ]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

 This closure period also buys time for officials to come up with lasting solutions to this ongoing environmental challenge.

 

Talk about ignorance. Unless they can control the temperature of the water in the Gulf of Thailand, there's absolutely nothing they can do. The Gulf is like a giant bathtub, so it's not surprising this area is suffering the most.

 

The Great Barrier Reef has suffered 7 major bleaching events since 1998 and they are always well documented, including recovery. Perhaps they should talk to the marine biologists in Australia.

[JensenZ]

23 minutes ago, Robert Paulson said:

If anyone actually wants to help fix the ocean or coral or whatever the hell else, start with trash and plastics 

How will the removal of some trash and plastic lower water temperatures in a huge body of water? An increase of just 1C can cause these bleaching events. It is no surprise considering how hot it has been throughout April and May.

[Robert Paulson]

1 hour ago, JensenZ said:

How will the removal of some trash and plastic lower water temperatures in a huge body of water? An increase of just 1C can cause these bleaching events. It is no surprise considering how hot it has been throughout April and May.

It reminds me of people who were trying to stop covid. Covid was always going to covid. Who on earth thinks we’re going to alleviate some type of temperature fluctuations, in the ocean no less, with water having a very high specific heat capacity? You wanna “fix” oceans, stop adding plastics that will never break down. Ever. 

[cowellandrew]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

 ....... and sewage.

And I wonder how much sewage the carrier group just dumped in the sea in there recent visit!

 

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, zakalwe said:

A tough measure lasting all of 2 months.

But will it reduce sea temperatures?

[hotchilli]

10 minutes ago, cowellandrew said:

And I wonder how much sewage the carrier group just dumped in the sea in there recent visit!

None.

[smedly]

how does this help ?

[newbee2022]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Picture courtesy: National News Bureau of Thailand

 

In response to a serious coral bleaching crisis sparked by rising sea temperatures from the El Niño weather phenomenon, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has taken decisive action.

 

They've closed down 12 national marine parks, including big names like Mu Koh Chang and Ao Phang Nga, aiming to halt further harm to coral ecosystems that began showing alarming signs of bleaching back in April. This tough measure is set to stay in place until July.

 

Leading the charge in damage assessment are key figures like Natural Resources and Environment Minister Pol. Gen. Patcharawat Wongsuwan and Department of Marine and Coastal Resources Deputy Director-General Chidchanok Sukmongkol.

 

The Gulf of Thailand is bearing the brunt of the bleaching, with a shocking 50% of its coral reefs hit, compared to 20% in the shallower waters of the Andaman Sea.

 

This environmental crisis has sparked widespread concern among marine experts and the public alike, raising urgent questions about the future of marine life in the region.

 

Pol. Gen. Patcharawat stresses that closing these parks is just one part of a larger strategy. It's aimed at giving the reefs a chance to recover from the intense heat stress that's been wreaking havoc on coral health.

 

This closure period also buys time for officials to come up with lasting solutions to this ongoing environmental challenge.

 

-- 2024-05-13

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

Good decision. Hopefully not too late.

Sure the Navy and Rangers have to protect the areas 🙏

[BritScot]

6 hours ago, JensenZ said:

Talk about ignorance. Unless they can control the temperature of the water in the Gulf of Thailand, there's absolutely nothing they can do. The Gulf is like a giant bathtub, so it's not surprising this area is suffering the most.

 

The Great Barrier Reef has suffered 7 major bleaching events since 1998 and they are always well documented, including recovery. Perhaps they should talk to the marine biologists in Australia.

The cult were screaming Global Warming causing the great barrier reef dying until it slipped out it was infact growing. The Cult changed their mantra to Climate Change. Something this spining rock has been doing for billions of years. Anyone for an Ice age? Trash and sewage kills reefs/corals. Dead coral is white.

[jonclark]

7 minutes ago, BritScot said:

The cult were screaming Global Warming causing the great barrier reef dying until it slipped out it was infact growing. The Cult changed their mantra to Climate Change. Something this spining rock has been doing for billions of years. Anyone for an Ice age? Trash and sewage kills reefs/corals. Dead coral is white.

Global warming is the mechanism of change that underpins Climate Change, they are not seperate ideas. So the cult never changes their mantra did they - An Ice age (also climate change) would also cause sea temperatures to drop and coral reefs to either go deeper (such as off the coast of the UK) or for tropical coral species to die in a similar fashion to the current bleaching events. 

 

Explain how sewage kills corals - i bet you cant without the help of google. 

 

[JensenZ]

2 hours ago, BritScot said:

  Trash and sewage kills reefs/corals. Dead coral is white.

Yes, dead coral is white, but bleached coral is not dead.

 

What is coral bleaching?

When corals are under stress, they expel the microscopic algae that live in their tissues. Without these algae, corals' tissues become transparent, exposing their white skeleton. This is called coral bleaching. Bleached corals are not dead, but are more at risk of starvation and disease.

 

Coral Bleaching

 

[JensenZ]

23 hours ago, Robert Paulson said:

If anyone actually wants to help fix the ocean or coral or whatever the hell else, start with trash and plastics 

Vast coral reef zones suffer from bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef. Areas nearly as large as the whole of the Gulf of Thailand. I can assure you it has nothing to do with garbage, plastics or sewage. Sure, it would be nice if they could clean up the beaches, but it won't prevent bleaching.

 

The Gulf of Thailand is quite shallow, with an average depth of only 45m, up to a maximum of 80m. This makes water exchange slow (with the Pacific Ocean) with strong water inflow from rivers making it low in salinity and rich in sediments. In a good year, it's not an ideal place for pristine coral reefs to grow.

 

The Great Barrier Reef is 15 - 150 km offshore, and up to 65 km wide. The water is as clean as you can expect anywhere on earth. On the far side of the reef, the continental shelf quickly drops to over 2000m deep. Few people live in this part of Australia. The Great Barrier Reef is about 340,000 km2 vs 320,000 km2 for the whole of the Gulf of Thailand. Of course, only a small part of the Gulf of Thailand is an actual reef, around the islands and near the shore.

 

The only way to solve the problem is to install refrigeration units throughout the Gulf of Thailand, to reduce the ocean temperature by a degree or two. Other than that, we can pray for cooler weather.

Edited May 13 by JensenZ

[Robert Paulson]

42 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

Vast coral reef zones suffer from bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef. Areas nearly as large as the whole of the Gulf of Thailand. I can assure you it has nothing to do with garbage, plastics or sewage. Sure, it would be nice if they could clean up the beaches, but it won't prevent bleaching.

 

The Gulf of Thailand is quite shallow, with an average depth of only 45m, up to a maximum of 80m. This makes water exchange slow (with the Pacific Ocean) with strong water inflow from rivers making it low in salinity and rich in sediments. In a good year, it's not an ideal place for pristine coral reefs to grow.

 

The Great Barrier Reef is 15 - 150 km offshore, and up to 65 km wide. The water is as clean as you can expect anywhere on earth. On the far side of the reef, the continental shelf quickly drops to over 2000m deep. Few people live in this part of Australia. The Great Barrier Reef is about 340,000 km2 vs 320,000 km2 for the whole of the Gulf of Thailand. Of course, only a small part of the Gulf of Thailand is an actual reef, around the islands and near the shore.

 

The only way to solve the problem is to install refrigeration units throughout the Gulf of Thailand, to reduce the ocean temperature by a degree or two. Other than that, we can pray for cooler weather.

If you don’t know the biggest problem in the ocean is plastics, right now, and especially in the future, I can’t help you. That is the hugest environmental problem in the world right now, but people want to focus on climate change. Something you can’t fix even if we do all decide it’s an actual real thing. Quite convenient. Are we getting it yet?

[JensenZ]

1 hour ago, Robert Paulson said:

If you don’t know the biggest problem in the ocean is plastics, right now, and especially in the future, I can’t help you. That is the hugest environmental problem in the world right now, but people want to focus on climate change. Something you can’t fix even if we do all decide it’s an actual real thing. Quite convenient. Are we getting it yet?

If anyone needs help, it's you...

 

If you revise my posts, you won't see the words "climate change" or "global warming" mentioned. I'm discussing coral bleaching, which is caused by a small increase in water temperature. You think plastics are the "hugest" and biggest environmental problem in the world? That's nonsense and has nothing to do with coral bleaching and the rise in water temperature which causes it.

Edited May 14 by JensenZ

[Robert Paulson]

46 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

If anyone needs help, it's you...

 

If you revise my posts, you won't see the words "climate change" or "global warming" mentioned. I'm discussing coral bleaching, which is caused by a small increase in water temperature. You think plastics are the "hugest" and biggest environmental problem in the world? That's nonsense and has nothing to do with coral bleaching and the rise in water temperature which causes it.

I need help? Your “solution” is putting refrigeration units in the ocean. lol. My god. I guess this is what the world is coming to. You do know water has a very high specific heat capacity, right? 
 

just a little hint to help you get started on your journey to actually having a useful opinion for once: you can’t cool off oceans with refrigerators

[Robert Paulson]

I have a question for all the geniuses out there. When there were no humans on the earth, did ocean corals experience bleaching? Or… that never happened? It’s a yes or no question. 
 

Can you start to see the problems that actually need fixing vs the “problems” we make up in our heads when you look at things in this light? 

[Mike Lister]

3 minutes ago, Robert Paulson said:

I have a question for all the geniuses out there. When there were no humans on the earth, did ocean corals experience bleaching? Or… that never happened? It’s a yes or no question. 
 

Can you start to see the problems that actually need fixing vs the “problems” we make up in our heads when you look at things in this light? 

When the tree in the forest falls and there's nobody around to hear it fall, does it make a noise!

[Robert Paulson]

I don’t expect anyone to actually answer the question because we all know the answer is “yes, coral bleaching did exist before humans came along”. But that wouldnt fit in with their little fuzzy, ridiculous narratives

[Robert Paulson]

One more for the geniuses before I go… shallow waters heat up very fast. Most corals live in shallow water. So it lives in this area that has a very high chance to fluctuate in temperature a lot. It’s another missing piece of the puzzle for those who seem so confused. If you want it written out for you: water temperature is not the problem… but wait it’s better… even if it was the problem we could not fix it. So, what do you do? As I’ve laid out, you tackle the other ways we’re destroying the ocean. 

[Mike Lister]

1 minute ago, Robert Paulson said:

I don’t expect anyone to actually answer the question because we all know the answer is “yes, coral bleaching did exist before humans came along”. But that wouldnt fit in with their little fuzzy, ridiculous narratives

It's probably not a great idea to think of people with different views as idiots and even less good to call them ridiculous, just because you disagree. Unless of course your own thinking and knowledge is far in excess of the combined scientific brain power on the planet!

[Robert Paulson]

Actually I don’t think it makes much difference how I think of people. But yes, as I tried to explain last night, if you go to a Yankees game and the Yankees win, and there’s a group of people talking as you walk out of the game saying the Yankees lost… guess what… those people are idiots. And there is nothing anyone can do about it. It’s just the truth. You can ignore it, or dismiss it. But I think it’s best to address it and attempt to show the world “look, they think the Yankees lost today” 

[JonnyF]

Sounds like the politicians/generals and their offspring want their private playgrounds back. 

[Mike Lister]

4 minutes ago, Robert Paulson said:

Actually I don’t think it makes much difference how I think of people. But yes, as I tried to explain last night, if you go to a Yankees game and the Yankees win, and there’s a group of people talking as you walk out of the game saying the Yankees lost… guess what… those people are idiots. And there is nothing anyone can do about it. It’s just the truth. You can ignore it, or dismiss it. But I think it’s best to address it and attempt to show the world “look, they think the Yankees lost today” 

I think it's great that some people can only see things as black or white, it saves so much time and effort.

[Robert Paulson]

Just now, Mike Lister said:

I think it's great that some people can only see things as black or white, it saves so much time and effort.

Let me tell you a little story Mike. When I was about 10 years old I got my allowance one week, which I had to work hard for we had a decent sized yard. I admit I only did this once, but I called up the surf rider foundation and donated my entire 10 dollar allowance to them. Now I have no idea if that made any difference whatever or even if I was scammed, but what I get sick of is these people who spend a Saturday at the ocean once a month trying to tell me what’s going on in the ocean. They really and truly do have no idea. They’re just ingesting the mainstream narrative that the media wants them to be concerned with. And the truth is, if you want to be an effective fighter for the environment, you have got to dig a little deeper than the most recent report from Rachel maddow on coral bleaching. 

[jonclark]

41 minutes ago, Robert Paulson said:

I need help? Your “solution” is putting refrigeration units in the ocean. lol. My god. I guess this is what the world is coming to. You do know water has a very high specific heat capacity, right? 
 

just a little hint to help you get started on your journey to actually having a useful opinion for once: you can’t cool off oceans with refrigerators

Where the hell does he talk of putting refrigeration units in the oceans? 

 

Plastics are not the biggest problem facing the world - climate change is. Natural climate change occurs over thousands or tens of thousands of years. Not in the space of 20 - 30 years. It is the rate of warming and change that is alarming, not climate change itself.  

 

[brianthainess]

On 5/13/2024 at 6:00 AM, BritManToo said:

On 5/13/2024 at 5:39 AM, Robert Paulson said:

If anyone actually wants to help fix the ocean or coral or whatever the hell else, start with trash and plastics 

 ....... and sewage.

I have also heard that when swimming pool water is changed it is drained straight into the sea, I know stuff all about pool maintenance, but it is what an owner of a resort told me.