Diving Sites In Thailand To Be Closed For A Month

[Spalpeen]

"Thai Academics" strike again. It's not hard to guess what will happen as soon as the divers are not there to report illegal fishing. And how many businesses can afford to simply close down for a month?

You obviously do not live here in thailand, otherwise you would know that East of Eden is only one of many sites here. It is also pretty dead like some of the other sites in the similan chain!

Strange use of the word "obviously". In fact I have been 'obviously' permanently resident in Thailand for many years. And I dive here every few weeks.

.

Are you sure you're quoting the right post? I didn't mention East of Eden at all.

[Jimi007]

Sadly as with most of your posts you are either incorrect or partially incorrect.

warm water is not the only cause of bleaching - they have been progressively weakened for years and therefore are more susceptible to other stresses of which warm water is one.

Again no "report" in fact says what you imply and you are misreading it, if you've read any. I think you are relying on a journalist's interpretation of a scientific document...or even more an interpretation of a government interpretation of the original report.

I also think that most posters don't actually understand what coral bleaching is.

many clearly are confused and think it is something to do with bleach used for lobster fishing - which of course would cause coral bleaching but is not the same thing.The Thai govt will probably do this to which will again pt the corals in danger.

Bleaching is caused by the release of algae by the corals - they do this naturally in many circumstances but if stressed they release too many resulting in "bleaching"

Hum, you must be correct, as usual. I was just trying to make the point it happened quite a while ago (8 months) and it was a dated article. But warm water is the main cause. See link: Australian Government Just a simple reference. There are many more I have read in the past while it was happening and the history of coral bleaching... But I don't want to rehash something that has already been discussed in this Forum before.

Yes Jim I am.

now lets quote that article YOU have cited so EVERYONE can see how people are making statements on this thread that are totally without any research jumping to conclusions and consequently meaningless.

"The primary cause of coral bleaching is high water temperature. Temperature increases of only 1.5–2°C lasting for six to eight weeks are enough to trigger bleaching. When high temperatures persist for more than eight weeks, corals begin to die. Many other stressors can also cause bleaching including sedimentation, pollutants and changes in salinity. These stressors usually operate at local scales. Elevated water temperature is of greater concern as it can affect reefs at regional to global scales. When bleaching occurs at these large spatial scales, it is a mass bleaching event. "

Unless people really appreciate what is happening to tthe corals - they won't be able to formulate an action plan - the Thai authorities have not done so, and as shown by many of the posts on this thread, the general public does not grasp the whole picture. Jumping to the conclusion that water temp is the ONLY cause of bleaching is INCORRECT.

it therefore has to be established what the causes of the bleaching are - this as far as I can see has not been done - only guesses are being made, not just by posters on this thread, but also the Thai authorities.

You quote the Australian Government link I posted and then use a larger font to try to "prove" your point and ignore; "The primary cause of coral bleaching is high water temperature." It also says: "Elevated water temperature is of greater concern as it can affect reefs at regional to global scales." The water temperature was very high for at least six weeks here around Phuket, (starting in May 2010) where I live. Do you live here or were you even here in May and June? But I agree, it is not the only stressor of the coral, just the primary one...

Primary defined:

1) of chief importance; principal.

Synonymous with:

1. our primary role main, chief, key, prime, central, principal, foremost, first,first-line, most important, predominant, paramount; informal number-one. antonym secondary, subordinate

2. the primary cause original, earliest, initial, first; essential, fundamental,basic. antonym secondary.

By the way, I was being facetious in my first line in my first response to you, but it apparently went right over the top of that rather egocentric head of yours!

[folium]

If I can move on from the discussion of the technical definition, causes etc of bleaching and reef damage, here's a strictly practical couple of questions.

I am due to take my kids snorkelling in the Surin islands in 3 weeks time. There seems to be 2 issues:

a. the exact locations that have been closed is unclear, there was an initial list of 5 sites and then I believe it was changed to a different list of 5 sites.Where has been closed?

b. where does this leave a snorkelling trip to the Surin islands? Is it worth going ahead or would it be better to find an alternative destination, if so where?

any help/advice gratefully received.

[siamdivers]

If I can move on from the discussion of the technical definition, causes etc of bleaching and reef damage, here's a strictly practical couple of questions.

I am due to take my kids snorkelling in the Surin islands in 3 weeks time. There seems to be 2 issues:

a. the exact locations that have been closed is unclear, there was an initial list of 5 sites and then I believe it was changed to a different list of 5 sites.Where has been closed?

b. where does this leave a snorkelling trip to the Surin islands? Is it worth going ahead or would it be better to find an alternative destination, if so where?

any help/advice gratefully received.

Go for it, you'll be fine. It's a good biology lesson for your kids, so make sure you read up about bleaching and talk to them about it. It'll be their generation which will be forced to deal with these issues as stress on the oceans becomes higher.

The exact locations will be made clear to you out there, don't worry, very little in The Nation is clear or factual anyway as these series of articles have proven.

[SimilanDiver]

Following some potentially misleading media coverage on the recent dive site closures in Thailand - Wicked Diving, Khao Lak would like to state the following:

The recent El Nina weather pattern that is responsible for the recent flooding in Australia, has created higher than normal sea water temperatures in 2010 which has affected some reefs in our region. Coral bleaching has occurred at a limited number of dive sites throughout Thailand and beyond. The government of Thailand has taken some steps to reduce the possible impact of SCUBA diving and snorkeling on the areas where bleaching has occurred.

Thailand is home to more than two dozen Marine Parks and has some of the most highly rated dive sites in the world. Of these Marine parks, 7 have dive sites that will be closing. Of these 7 parks, a total of 16 dive sites will close. In the most famous of all these marine parks - The Similan Islands - only one dive site is closed. In an are covering 140 sq. Km and having dozens of named dive sites - this has very little impact on visitors.

We as a dive operator are passionate about the environment in which we live and work. Therefore we

are deeply concerned about the condition of the reef. It is proven that there is virtually no connection

between diving and coral bleaching, but we strongly support the decision to limit any potential stress to the coral as it recovers.

Ourselves, and a majority of dive operators in this region, fully support the National Parks decision and will continue to enforce our strict philosophy of "no impact diving". We do not allow contact with the reefs, harassment of any marine life or the feeding of any marine species. Further, our operation will continue to use phosphate free cleaning agents, biodegradable shampoos and conditioners as standard practice.

Khao Lak, Thailand, January 23rd, 2011

Wicked Diving is a small, boutique center focused on safety, service and responsible tourism in the diving industry. We cater to guests seeking a sense of adventure and wishing to experience the ecosystems we visit while assisting those communities we interact with.

http://wickeddiving.com

[jbrewer]

Since diving does not cause coral bleaching, this is basically a useless move. Still no word on the fishing boats, I suppose?

That's where the pressure is coming from: too many divers are disturbing the illegal fishing in these coral reefs! These fishermen, who clearly inflict the most of the damage to these coral reefs, are disturbed by all these divers around who are "protecting" by their presence these reefs from damage.

Everyone who has been diving in Thailand on coral reefs has seen with his own eyes what kind of damage these fishermen are making... nets all over the diving grounds and broken corals...

Diving is a sport which is much more practiced by farangs than by Thais. Most of the diving business is in hands of farangs and by closing these popular diving grounds (nearby Khaolak e.g.), they are catching two flies in one stroke: paralyse these diving businesses and truning a blind eye again to the illegal fishing...

Indeed, who can explain me what the correlation is between bleaching and diving? Soon we will read that some skies will be closed for sky-divers as they might get entangled in the ropes of the kytes, flown by local Thais in the villages...

TIT!

[Crushdepth]

"Sea temperatures being higher than normal for an extended period of time and you have a mass bleaching," - really and would you care to cite your source for that re- the Similans?

That's not what I said. *Scientists* have found that high water temperatures are a primary cause of bleaching. *I* said that i) the monsoon was delayed last year, ii) peak water water temperatures remained for a few months longer than usual and iii) this was followed by a serious bleaching event (which is now over by the way). Draw your own conclusions.

How do I know the temperature? I carry a diving computer which logs the information on every dive. Not that you really need one to know when the water temperature is 32 degrees. And I keep a logbook.

Can someone tell me which report states that it is "MASS BLEACHING"?

I don't need a report because I was there. I did about 40 hours of diving in the Andaman Sea plus the northern and southern gulf in the second half of last year. Everywhere I went was bleached, everyone I talked to said everywhere they went was bleached. News reports from other countries in the region said they had bleaching too. I had a discussion about bleaching in the region with the researcher doing the survey I mentioned. I asked my local diveshop instructors what they had seen. It was a regional event.

But maybe we were all imagining it.

[Crushdepth]

This is not a particularly good photo (and was taken after most corals had regained their colour), but it illustrates the point. Guess which corals are bleached, it's not rocket science.

[Jimi007]

Following some potentially misleading media coverage on the recent dive site closures in Thailand - Wicked Diving, Khao Lak would like to state the following:

The recent El Nina weather pattern that is responsible for the recent flooding in Australia, has created higher than normal sea water temperatures in 2010 which has affected some reefs in our region. Coral bleaching has occurred at a limited number of dive sites throughout Thailand and beyond. The government of Thailand has taken some steps to reduce the possible impact of SCUBA diving and snorkeling on the areas where bleaching has occurred.

Thailand is home to more than two dozen Marine Parks and has some of the most highly rated dive sites in the world. Of these Marine parks, 7 have dive sites that will be closing. Of these 7 parks, a total of 16 dive sites will close. In the most famous of all these marine parks - The Similan Islands - only one dive site is closed. In an are covering 140 sq. Km and having dozens of named dive sites - this has very little impact on visitors.

We as a dive operator are passionate about the environment in which we live and work. Therefore we

are deeply concerned about the condition of the reef. It is proven that there is virtually no connection

between diving and coral bleaching, but we strongly support the decision to limit any potential stress to the coral as it recovers.

Ourselves, and a majority of dive operators in this region, fully support the National Parks decision and will continue to enforce our strict philosophy of "no impact diving". We do not allow contact with the reefs, harassment of any marine life or the feeding of any marine species. Further, our operation will continue to use phosphate free cleaning agents, biodegradable shampoos and conditioners as standard practice.

Khao Lak, Thailand, January 23rd, 2011

Wicked Diving is a small, boutique center focused on safety, service and responsible tourism in the diving industry. We cater to guests seeking a sense of adventure and wishing to experience the ecosystems we visit while assisting those communities we interact with.

http://wickeddiving.com

Sorry, but you are slightly confused, there is no such thing as El Nina. There are; El Nino (The Boy Child) and La Nina (The Girl Child). El Nino is what happened last spring (during the drought in Thailand), which is the raising of the water temperature along the equator, being the primary cause of the coral bleaching. It was followed by a La Nina, which is cooler than normal water temperatures along the equator, which is causing the flooding in Australia. See link: Climate Prediction Center. I just wanted to clarify the terminology...