Is There Any Hard Coral Reef Left In Thailand (3-10M)?

[bangkokburning]

Looks to be finished with zero hope in all.but tiny pockets of Andaman.

Thx

[stevenl]

About 3 years ago there was coral bleaching. Since then though the corals are recovering fast, with some reefs still showing damage, and some nice as ever.

[bangkokburning]

Where are you seeing this specifically, I can't find a patch of coral to save Poseidon's life. This year seems to be worse, not better?!

[stevenl]

Where are you seeing this specifically, I can't find a patch of coral to save Poseidon's life. This year seems to be worse, not better?!

Racha Yai has improved a lot, Bida Islands are improving fast and also Similans are improving.

[bangkokburning]

Similans? Well, we will be there next year so that will give them an addl year to heal. Tachai and Surins are 100% gone.

I will be poking around islands in the far south. I avoid Phuket like the plague.

Thanks

[NomadJoe]

Looks to be finished with zero hope in all.but tiny pockets of Andaman.

Finshed? Tiny pockets? Where are you getting your info?

As Steve said, Raya was hit pretty hard with the 2009 bleaching event. But I was in Bugalow Bay a couple weeks ago and was delighted to see the huge patch of staghorn coral along the north side of the bay to be sprouting new buds of coral directly off the old.

I had a fantastic series of 3 dives with great vis yesterday in Phuket. Shark Point is as pristine as ever, but the draw there isn't the hard corals, which are perfectly healthy, but the colorful soft corals, anemone's, massive gorgonian fans, and of course, sharks. After a 3 month hiatus the Leopard sharks are being spotted again this week, We had one Leapord on the dive there yesterday. And there's always Bamboo sharks sleeping under the rocks. Loads of stingrays and eels, plus 2 tigertail seahorses. Hard and soft coral now covers King Cruiser, as do massive schools of every fish imaginable. Koh Doc Mai is also in good shape coral wise. Saw a bamboo shark on both King Cruiser and Koh Doc Mai. KDM had a few seahoirses and ornate ghost pipefish. last week I saw a Jan's pipfish there to. We just finished a spectacular night dive off of Kata Beach a few hours ago, We saw loads of squid, cuttlefish, Kuhl's stingrays, a skate, a 1.5m chevron baracuda which followed us on the whole dive, two ornate ghost pipefish, two bent stick pipefish, a honeycomb moray eel, two magnificent ghost shrimp, spider crabs, decorator crabs, hermit crabs with several anemones stuck on his back, painted spiny lobsters, a family of razorfish, the smallest members being just 2-3mm long, almost microscopic. I also continue to find more of those concrete blocks that were dropped last month as artificial reefs. A really incredible dive.

Yesterdays King Crusier dive.

Will post more later if anyone's interested,

[pacovl46]

Where are you seeing this specifically, I can't find a patch of coral to save Poseidon's life. This year seems to be worse, not better?!

Koh Tao for example. I saw lots of corals there about last april.

[limbos]

The Gulf had less impact from the bleaching in 2009. Plenty of hard corals in god shape all over the place here! Check out sites around Koh Tao, especially one of my faves 'The Lighthouse' and Angthong national marine park (mainly visited from Koh Samui).

[candypants]

you can find hard coral snorkelling off koh phangan.

the bleaching hit hard, but the coral has been quick to rally