Similan And Surin National Parks Diving Paradises May Be Closed

[bsacbob]

About time too. Tens of thousands of SCUBA divers have had a drastic effect on our coral reefs.

They have scared all the big fish away especially sharks who have very strong hearing and the noise of escaping bubbles spooks them. Novice SCUBA divers constantly tread on the corals in spite of been asked not to by there instructors. Dive boat have to anchor over the coral for safety purposes and thier anchors cause extensive damage.

Snorkeling causes no damage to the environment and the boats used anchor well awa y from the coral reefs and should be allowed in national parks. The water is so clear there is no need to use SCUBA. But of course SCUBA shops cant make much money out of snorkeling. They make their money issuing fancy certificates to people who are unable to dive without SCUBA.

You obviously have not dived the waters around Thailand the viz and can be very poor at times out in the open water and not suitable for snorkeling. Whilst i admit some of dive shops may out to make a quick buck Put Another Dollar In springs to mind, i agree with an earlier poster that maybe some of the out of bounds islands should be opened and rotate the usage.

Proper concrete reef anchor points would be useful to avoid anchors dragging the bottom, like you would find at most of the popular dive sites in the Red Sea, but alas until the fishermen are brought to heal things are only going to get worse IMHO.

:jap:

Edited January 17, 2011 by bsacbob

[IanForbes]

There were some good replies to this topic by people who know their business. It is a worldwide problem. But we are talking about 2 different topics here. The bleaching is an environmental thing caused by increased temperature of ocean currents. The whole world is changing and I'm not sure if humans have anything to do with climate change. There are two, polar opposite points of view on what is causing it.

Destruction of the reefs by human pollution, illegal fishing and the occasional person stepping on coral is an entirely different topic. There IS something the authorities could do about illegal fishing but they refuse to do so... similar to the BIB not taking care of traffic problems and just doing their routine weekly check on helmets.. It is beyond belief that a supposed authority in the Similan National Park would relate the destruction of the reefs to dive boats. When you take the eyes of the public away from watching over the diving areas you also take away any form of possible enforcement. Out of sight means out of mind.

[reason1]

Divers do cause damage, anchors from dive boats rip coral, but I believe others do more damage. The pressure on the marine environment is too much all around. After 20+ years of regular diving all around SE Asia inc Thailand I gave up about 10 years ago due to the damage and scarcity of sharks and fish in general plus pollution. Night diving showed the shocking over fishing with factory ships taking everything they could. With the climate damage too there doesn't seem to be any solution, things tragically will just get worse but any sensible attempt to reduce pressures selectively should be supported and apply to all users in an area and be policed. The best of my diving was fantastic in the region including a jaunt with Killer Whales.

[asiawatcher]

Yep, another dumb solution from a bozo politician. The place will be decimated by illegal fishing if diving and tourism is banned.

It's quite sad.

Agree.

[AleG]

About time too. Tens of thousands of SCUBA divers have had a drastic effect on our coral reefs.

They have scared all the big fish away especially sharks who have very strong hearing and the noise of escaping bubbles spooks them. Novice SCUBA divers constantly tread on the corals in spite of been asked not to by there instructors. Dive boat have to anchor over the coral for safety purposes and thier anchors cause extensive damage.

Snorkeling causes no damage to the environment and the boats used anchor well awa y from the coral reefs and should be allowed in national parks. The water is so clear there is no need to use SCUBA. But of course SCUBA shops cant make much money out of snorkeling. They make their money issuing fancy certificates to people who are unable to dive without SCUBA.

Hmm, what???

Divers by and large are the least cause of damage to reefs, a novice or inatentive diver my break a coral branch here and there, but a fishing net on the lose can kill the area of a tennis court or more. I've never been on a dive boat that simply dropped anchor over coral, either they use mooring buoys, stay unanchored or drop on sand. Fishing and specially trawling are the bane of reefs. Sharks are gone not because they are scared of the noises but because their fins end up in Chinese restaurants. Snorkeling is fine on principle, but every Tom, Dick and Harry can get on the water with no concept at all of the proper way to mind the sea life and cause havoc; or haven't you seen snorkelers walking over coral or feeding bread to fish?

The dive industry here has a lot to improve on conservationism issues, but by far is one of the lowest culprits on the decline of reefs and it can be argued that it protects them more than it harms them. Dive operators depend on healthy reefs and you can see many initiatives (specially in Koh Tao) meant to protect and restore corals; can you show me any snorkeling or fishing outfit that does something similar?

[Basil B]

I was on the Similan two years ago. We arrived at the islands 1,2,3 short after nightfall , just to see hundreds of light of illegal fishing boats floating around and forming a ring around the islands. All this activivty happens all year round ( you just don t see it as in the daytime they hide and hardly any snorkeling- diving live aboursd are going into this area.

I noticed a lot of these fishing boats are leaking, and have poorly maintenanced engines, all leaking oil and fuels. Also , trash, broken fishing nets, waste, feces, all is thrown overboard. no wonder coral reef are suffering. I don t hink divers are doing much harm to the reefs. The intensive fishing inside a national park , paid with tea money into the hands of the few who are supposed to watch over the fishing ban, is the worst thing that ever can happen to the archipelago. We went to see all the island and around them of the Similan group, so I can speak for what I have witnessed. Around and near the anchoring spots for the fisheries, the water is shiney rainbow from all the leaked fuel. If Mister General wants to see results and protect the area, he is supposed to kick out all these illegal fisheries. Also, the decline of Tuna , Makarel, Barracuda and Sharks is a direct result of cutting right through the migration routes of these fish with big nets , literally sipping off all larger than a finger sea life.

Yes, there is tons of fishing boats every where, from Phuket to Similan and from Tab Lamu to Similan, but the boats wit the lights are actually fishing for squid, these are attracted by the lights.

Have to agree with the nets, I remember some 3,4 years ago, when we arrived at Richelieu Rock for the very first dive of the season there. We must have been the first live aboard there.

The whole rock from bottom to top was covered with a huge net, could not have been long, probably just the night before, as the majority of fish was not dead yet. Fish as small as Clown Fish were caught in it. It took us 3 dives to remove 2/3 of the net. The rest must have been removed by other boats the following days.

You do not dynamite squid, I was diving the Hard Deep a few years a go while down when we herd a big bang, it spooked everybody on surfacing it was found to be a "squid" fishing boat over half a mile away dynamiting fish.

Dynamiting fish has been causing damage to coral for years, the bleaching is a by-product of global warming, banning diving will only promote illegal fishing with dynamite, regulate diving by providing limited moorings on dive sites and ban the use of anchors, if an area needs to be protected then ban all boats.

[Basil B]

You obviously have not dived the waters around Thailand the viz and can be very poor at times out in the open water and not suitable for snorkeling. Whilst i admit some of dive shops may out to make a quick buck Put Another Dollar In springs to mind, i agree with an earlier poster that maybe some of the out of bounds islands should be opened and rotate the usage.

Proper concrete reef anchor points would be useful to avoid anchors dragging the bottom, like you would find at most of the popular dive sites in the Red Sea, but alas until the fishermen are brought to heal things are only going to get worse IMHO.

:jap:

(BSAC)Bob,

If you really want to take a cheap swipe at PADI with any credibility you really ought to change your user name.

Edited January 17, 2011 by Basil B

[moskito]

We had coral bleaching on the Maldives too but after some time (years) some reefs recovered. On the Maldives it was obviously ONLY the rising sea temperature due to global warming. In Thailand it is also because of garbage and other "nice" things getting without any wastewater treatment plant directly into the sea. Unbelivable? you should count some millions of Thais and Tourists shittin, peeing, showering plus some thousands factories and shrimpfarms sending their wastewater down the drain.

Since diving is not just more as a big business they should shut down the areas there, touris are happy with naked rocks and already dead corals around some islands too (:

[Deeral]

I didn't realise things were so bad. Saw a lot of bleaching last year near Phi Phi, but nowhere near 90%. Unfortunately closing the parks to the public will more likely than not be an open invitation to illegal fishing boats to plunder the area. If there are no boats around to keep an eye open, that is what will happen. Corals are pretty resilient though so growth to current levels will probably take no more than 15-20 years for most species, though for some slow growing types it will be a lot longer. Very sad anyway.

WOW thats a lot, but closling the parks and in any way blaming divers is typical thai and ridiculous the only thing closing will do is cause many business's to suffer massive additional loss of business.

Years back in Belize we had the same problem water temepratures were very high and the corals were bleaching for those that dont know what that means its when live coral releases its algae as it starts to die due to the excessive warm water.

The problem was solved by a natural occurance, that was Hurricance Mitch which cuased massive damage but cooled the seas down and the corals recovered ove the next year and were bigger an better than they ever were.

Since Thailand does not have Hurricanes, not sure how nature will take care of this but it surely will in due course

absoluye nonsense! Coral will not recover in a year!

DK

[Deeral]

I think some people should look at the rates of coral recovery after damage and the stats for coral reefs around the world - it makes for quite sickening reading.

Thailand however is in particular an example of how natural resources shouldn't be managed and the result is calls for drastic action like this because no-one has bothered to do a thing about it for decades, despite the massive increase in people coming to these areas.

Water temp can change for many reasons - and whereas pollution from nearby tourist populations is probably a contributor, one can also bet that any studies carried out have been short term and poorly executed due to the general culture of complacency in Thailand.gradually bit by bit Thailand is shitting in it's own nest and there needs to be a massive change of attitude by not just the authorities but popular awareness in general.

The sirte mentioned here are the "jewels in the crown" of Thailand's natural marine resources, but similar damage is being done all around the country both on land and sea and the majority in thailand doesn't seem to give a shit.

[Notfromthisplanet]

Yep, another dumb solution from a bozo politician. The place will be decimated by illegal fishing if diving and tourism is banned.

It's quite sad.

I have to agree if there are no more dive operations going to the similans then the fishing boats will reap the benefits.

As an instructor i am appalled at the amount of fishing line (brand new line) that sits and hangs around on the reefs, fishing boats do not care and only want to make a living by any means possible, otherwise they would not hide sharks that they catch. They would go elsewhere!

We had the same problem in Sri Lanka, where they would cut our moorings! We can work together in harmony!

What should be done is to sack all those that 'work to conserve the national marine parks (N.M.P.)'' and hire people that have preservation in mind!

This 600 baht is a joke and i say that we should either refuse to pay it, as divers, or go somewhere where there is no fee!

If all divers refuse then the N.M.P. will have to change or the D.C. (dive centers) will find new dive sites.

They do not realise that if they agitate the diving community too much, phuket, khao lak, koh tao, koh chang etc will die....... jobs will go....... farang and thai....fishing boats will do as they please and more bluefin tuna will be illegally killed and sent to australia or other countries!

I give thailand maybe another 5 years and if they do not change their ways in the fishing community then most of the dive sites will die.

We have had customers that have cancelled diving after only a few dives due to the fact that here is rubbish and not what was to be expected. If the divers are fresh then similans are good.....until they go somewhere else.

As to coral bleaching............yes it is here but not 90% more like 10%-20%.... mainly on koh bon, west ridge and small amounts (i mean small amounts) on the other islands. Ignorance is not bliss but stupidity. Coral bleaching does not come from divers, who are told to be aware of where their fins are but from high water temperatures 34'c instead of 28'c/29'c.

Maybe we should bypass the N.M.P and get petitions signed and sent to higher authorities instead, where maybe they will listen!

I have also seen speedboats using anchors and boats that feed the marine life, including ours.... yes it is nice to see the fish or turtles up close but these creatures can not differentiate between feeding boats and non-feeding boats and thus come up to the 'big thing s that gives us easy food'' and be killed when the captian starts the propellars and kills them!!!!

DO NOT FEED THEM::::::YOU WILL CHANGE THEIR FEEDING PATTERN!!!!!!!

[ableguy]

I worked as a dive Master at the Similians many years ago and as i recall divers do not use bleach.

Its the Thai fishermen that should be banned from the Park

All Divers are told NOT to step on the coral and most are aware of how fragile they are.

As master diver you should appreciate that all the bimboes who do a crash course do not have your and my sense of resonsabiliy , agrre with the fishermen comment.

[ableguy]

I think some people should look at the rates of coral recovery after damage and the stats for coral reefs around the world - it makes for quite sickening reading.

Thailand however is in particular an example of how natural resources shouldn't be managed and the result is calls for drastic action like this because no-one has bothered to do a thing about it for decades, despite the massive increase in people coming to these areas.

Water temp can change for many reasons - and whereas pollution from nearby tourist populations is probably a contributor, one can also bet that any studies carried out have been short term and poorly executed due to the general culture of complacency in Thailand.gradually bit by bit Thailand is shitting in it's own nest and there needs to be a massive change of attitude by not just the authorities but popular awareness in general.

The sirte mentioned here are the "jewels in the crown" of Thailand's natural marine resources, but similar damage is being done all around the country both on land and sea and the majority in thailand doesn't seem to give a shit.

Do you seriously think any polatician gives a shit ? against money they can make feeding at the trough ?

[Deeral]

I worked as a dive Master at the Similians many years ago and as i recall divers do not use bleach.

Its the Thai fishermen that should be banned from the Park

All Divers are told NOT to step on the coral and most are aware of how fragile they are.

As master diver you should appreciate that all the bimboes who do a crash course do not have your and my sense of resonsabiliy , agrre with the fishermen comment.

"I worked as a dive Master at the Similians many years ago and as i recall divers do not use bleach." - what on earth do you think you are talking about?Are you trying to be funny or are you really that stupid?

[snorkelador]

This is a typical knee jerk reaction by someone too powerful and completely uninformed for their own good. The main problem with the Similan and Surin Islands marine parks is that they are completely driven by corruption and therefore go to the highest bidder. It goes pretty much like this: in high season the tourist pay more, so they they get a go and the fishermen cannot completely do as they like and during monsoon it's the other way around.

Without snorkeling / diving business the reefs would be off far worse. Now before anyone completely snaps, I do think that the snorkeling / diving industry really needs to improve their impact on the reefs in terms of oil leaking boats, waste water, etc., but they are unlikely to do it without being forced to. The question is who would enforce the enforcement since the responsible agencies are obviously and completely out of control. Also, they would have to enforce those standards on fishing vessels or just admit to a blatant double standard. Difficult subject and IMHO as unlikely to get solved soon as the Similan / Surin Islands getting closed for tourists, which would be the beginning of the end.

[ThomasOzanne]

As to coral bleaching............yes it is here but not 90% more like 10%-20%.... mainly on koh bon, west ridge and small amounts (i mean small amounts) on the other islands. Ignorance is not bliss but stupidity. Coral bleaching does not come from divers, who are told to be aware of where their fins are but from high water temperatures 34'c instead of 28'c/29'c.

Maybe we should bypass the N.M.P and get petitions signed and sent to higher authorities instead, where maybe they will listen!

When was the last time you dived the Similans?

I dived throughout the Similans, as well as Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock over the last month and I can safely say that 90% of Hard Corals above 18m are well and truly dead. This was not the case when I last visited in March 2010. Sure coral was already dying and damaged (as it has been for many years) but extensive and devastating Coral Bleaching took place during summer 2010.

I have worked in the Similans at various times over the last four years and in that time have been watching them steadily decline. The fishing boats, the Fishermen, the diving boats, the Divers, the Snorkelers, the National Park Staff, the Sewerage, Sunscreen, Oil, Rubbish and of course rising sea temperatures are ALL to blame. I no longer work in Thailand. Part of the reason for that is I could not bear to be part of the problem. Particularly I resented paying Park fees in to a corrupt and useless system.

Thailand has many problems on the horizon. They are only just beginning to see the consequences of selling out everything they once had. This isn't a problem specific to Thailand. They may just be further gone than other countries.

Edited January 17, 2011 by ThomasOzanne

[Deeral]

I think some people should look at the rates of coral recovery after damage and the stats for coral reefs around the world - it makes for quite sickening reading.

Thailand however is in particular an example of how natural resources shouldn't be managed and the result is calls for drastic action like this because no-one has bothered to do a thing about it for decades, despite the massive increase in people coming to these areas.

Water temp can change for many reasons - and whereas pollution from nearby tourist populations is probably a contributor, one can also bet that any studies carried out have been short term and poorly executed due to the general culture of complacency in Thailand.gradually bit by bit Thailand is shitting in it's own nest and there needs to be a massive change of attitude by not just the authorities but popular awareness in general.

The sirte mentioned here are the "jewels in the crown" of Thailand's natural marine resources, but similar damage is being done all around the country both on land and sea and the majority in thailand doesn't seem to give a shit.

Do you seriously think any polatician gives a shit ? against money they can make feeding at the trough ?

There is some astounding ignorance amongst the posters here.OF COURSE people give a shit as they know that an intact natural resource is worth more than a spent one. Many countries spent a lot of time and money protecting their natural beauty - Thailand however is way behind on this and MUCH worse than many countries that are not as wealthy as they are.

[LPCustom69]

I would agree that the majority of the problem is caused by the illegal fishing boats, and crews. I haven't done any dives for a few years, but divers that I dove with took special care to leave the site as we found it.

[Deeral]

...AND WHAT REPORT ARE YOU USING TO BASE YOUR FIGURES ON?

[JOBANGKOK]

I don't think anybody has to be blamed for that .

It is just an accumulation of facts :

bleeching

fishermen

snorkling

and divers as well ...

I have been diving there for many years and I really noticed a difference during my last trip .Closing the parks and looking after the fishermen will allow the next generations to get the same feelings

we had long ago .

It is a difficult choice to make but maybe the right one .

We , divers , will go somewhere else like Indonesia and strangely in the next 5 years the same problemes will occur overthere .

Go figure ... Nearly 7 billions on the planet ...

[Igor]

Jobangkok #50 "divers , will go somewhere else like Indonesia"

Yeah. Try diving off Gili Air. The water is so clean and clear you'd swear you can see just as far as on the surface. But take a look at the coral gravel that covers the bottom and see what the wonder of dynamite fishing can do. It's illegal now but the last time I was there I swear I heard an explosion.

And see where the coral has been prised apart to get at stunned tropical fish - stunned by cyanide poisoning. Not all fish are stunned by the cyanide. The majority are killed outright. As are most corals. Why? So our dentists can have pretty aquariums in their waiting rooms.

But that's Indonesia. I'm sure it's not a problem here...

[moskito]

I worked as a dive Master at the Similians many years ago and as i recall divers do not use bleach.

Its the Thai fishermen that should be banned from the Park

All Divers are told NOT to step on the coral and most are aware of how fragile they are.

As master diver you should appreciate that all the bimboes who do a crash course do not have your and my sense of resonsabiliy , agrre with the fishermen comment.

LOL, specially in a system like PAy and DIve where so called Diving INSTRUCTORS with not more then 50 dives running around you should know how long it takes for a good diver not

to touch anything anymore, to get a feeling of tare need some time and is for sure not learned in a crash course with divers which not have more then 3 dives in open water.

[Basil B]

I would agree that the majority of the problem is caused by the illegal fishing boats, and crews. I haven't done any dives for a few years, but divers that I dove with took special care to leave the site as we found it.

Not exactly true, I remember my last dive we were cleaning up a dive site I remember recovering a large tin of paint or pitch that had been down there for several months, hate to think what toxins were in it but as soon as I got it out the water it started to stink of rotten eggs, this had come from fishing boats that more up on the dive site at night.

As for there being no sharks, I saw a shark not too long ago hiding under coral, they are there you just got to look, yesterday there was a documentary on UK Channel 4 "Gordon Ramsay, Shark Bait " http://www.channel4....ait/4od#3153606, ever wondered if shark fin soup contains real shark fins? the answer is yes, and the practice of finning where fisher men catch sharks cut off all there fins and toss them back still alive is barbaric.

Edited January 17, 2011 by Basil B

[webfact]

ENVIRONMENT

Tourist numbers at reefs hit by bleaching may be limited

By THE NATION

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti yesterday vowed to crack down on diving operations and even close some marine attractions in a bid to protect coral reefs from bleaching.

"We are considering limiting the number of tourists and requiring boats to moor quite far from the affected coral reefs," he said.

Officials would also try to find out how to restore them, he said.

Concerns have been growing that swathes of coral reefs have been damaged by bleaching.

Some worst hit areas may have to be closed to tourists so that they could recover naturally. Bleaching, a natural phenomenon, has struck coral reefs around many islands including Similan and Surin.

"I have already instructed authorities to conduct studies and introduce tangible steps to rehabilitate the coral reefs," he said. The new measures would also likely be introduced in areas with seaweed.

Divers have said that overcrowding at diving sites is hurting the coral reefs. Some spots get up to 300 visitors a day.

Director-general of the Marine and Coastal Resources Depart-ment Kasemsan Jinnawaso said the coral bleaching in the Anda-man Sea and Gulf of Thailand was very serious. The fatality rate for bleached coral was very high.

Director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Sunan Arunnopparat said he would inspect the Similan, Surin and Phi Phi islands on Thursday.

"If the damage is huge, I'm going to make these national marine parks off-limits to tourists," he said. Suwit will also summon the chief wardens of all 26 national marine parks in the country to a meeting on Thursday, he added.

-- The Nation 2011-01-18

[pogal]

Im sure the real reason is the rise in sea temperature rise. Global warming would cause the majority, if not all, of the bleaching.... unless you are American of course and then there is no such thing as Global warming lol

I agree, don't blame the divers, let them see it before its gone. Someone earlier said coral is resilient and will bounce back, in fact the opposite is true and with a rise in sea temperature (for whatever reason, the coral will not have time to adapt to that for possibly centuries.

BTW, bleaching is not from "Bleach" products for the professional diver who earlier said "divers do not use bleach". Been going too deep lately have we? lol

[jackr]

Fishing causes damage too, but without tourists, there wouldn't be such a big demand for fish.

Don't forget, without those tourists, a lot of folk would see hard times!

About time too. Tens of thousands of SCUBA divers have had a drastic effect on our coral reefs.

They have scared all the big fish away especially sharks who have very strong hearing and the noise of escaping bubbles spooks them.

Divers scaring fish? The fish have gone because they've been netted and eaten!

Yes, divers do cause damage, but as said over and over, bleaching is mainly the heat. Anyway, seems the fishers provide bigger backhanders, since when have our genial hosts really cared about their environment?

No matter, though, I'm sure 'your reefs' will recover just in time for Burma to open back up and provide divers with a real delight right up the Andaman.

[siamjimi]

This now environmental atrocity should have been stopped (closed) years ago - but the profits were being driven by Thais pushing the tourism into this coral reef past its safe use

Very sad indeed - I myself and many a diver know that any tourist dive site needs to be managed to preserve land and protect wild-life

Bleaching of reefs and the use of real bleach is 2 different things - however - the same results

yes - actual bleach is being used - by Thai fisherman - bleach use has been going on with the release of bleach capsules in the effort to harvest the lobster from those reefs - it accelerates the dying off of the coral at an alarming rate and runs hundreds of species from their respective homes

Everyone should boycott lobster in an effort to send a message to these fisherman that only conventional methods to trap and harvest lobster are acceptable - without the use of bleach capsules.

The reefs should be managed with alternating dive sites - this should be a standardized management approach to preserving some of the worlds most beautiful sea-life

These sites should have been under closer watch and closed years ago - possibly they are now beyond self-healing and will die off and never return - very sad indeed - driven by the almighty quest for the Baht

[oldsailor35]

all this talk of an extra 200 fishing boats is quite scary,you can see fishing boats as far as the eye can see from khao lak.the dive centres there are strict on touching coral.the fishing boats have no controller.surely the moneys collected as park fees can get in specialists and tighten control.closure is not the answer,the fishing boats will have a free for all.to blame divers is a typical blame the farang .

This happens from time to time here on the Gt Barrier Reef, but it always seem to recover over time. The divers are very conscious of the fragility of the reef and treat it with respect.

Global warming, Crown of Thorns Starfish, Farming run off and Fishermen are the big destroyers of the coral, however fishing on the reef is strictly controlled unlike in Thailand, where nobody really cares until its time to have the obligatory "crackdown" and then its probably too late.

[oldsailor35]

Should be some regulations about diving business,i've seen them arriving ,and within few years ,almost all the coral was dead...

This people are making a lot of money by selling air (compressed),but they don't spend much to care environment(except casually for promotion)

P.A.D.I=Put . Another . Dollar . In .....(more you pay ,more you earn)

What a bad system,coming from....U.S (of course)...

I agree that fishing boat are involved as well,but they are locals and they don't make that big money like diving schools...

I am not a diver Peter and i don't really think that you are either ? Your stupid remarks assume that divers 'cut their own throats' by mistreating the corals, i should think that is far from the true facts. The fishermen really dont care about whats under the surface as long as they are catching fish.

[oldsailor35]

The Director General said this? How did he get his job?

There is *no* link between coral bleaching and diving. None. The presence of divers will *not* make bleaching worse. If you close the parks, this is what will happen:

* Bleaching goes unreported (no complaints => problem solved!!).

* Monitoring gets wound back, because nobody is complaining.

* Illegal fishing activity goes through the roof.

If he's worried about pollution he should get rid of the fishing boats instead. 95% of crap on the reefs is broken fishing gear.

The 90% bleaching is true of most sites I visited in the second half of last year. I would guess about 30% of that died or was badly damaged, the rest has mostly recovered now, I didn't see any bleaching remaining yesterday.

You're 100% right! Farangs, do you feel the heat? The blame is coming on you, step by step as we were also to be blamed for introducing AIDS. No matter what goes wrong in Thailand: there are always the farangs to be blamed! Destruction of national parks, spilleage of waste and oil from diver's vessels, bleaching of corals, ... etc. Country of smiles... hahahaha

And , according to the "big boss copper" on Phuket, farang are the cause of driving accidents caused by their bad driving :lol::lol::lol::lol: