Krabi:- The chief of Mu Ko Similan National Park has insisted that the sea at the popular Koh Tachai, which is part of the park, has not been polluted as alleged by a Facebook user.

Nat Kongkesorn, the park chief, said a bird’s-eye-view photo showing the beach of Koh Tachai might be distorted by light reflecting, causing it to appear that the corals under the shallow sea have died.

Nat noted that the sea is still so clear that the rocks under the water could be clearly seen so the sea has not been polluted at all.

A Facebook user, who uses the name of Waran Rbj Suwanno, posted the photo on his wall and he called his picture as “Death from Above”.

He claimed the photo showed that all the corals around Koh Tachai have died because of water pollution caused by the tourism industry and by too many tourists visiting the island each day.

He claimed that around 800 to 1,200 tourists visited the island each day. He alleged that there was massive corruption in the park’s entrance fees.

Manager Online initially reposted the post of Waran as if it were its own report. Later, Manager corrected its post, saying it just linked to Waran’s Facebook post.

Nat, the park chief, argued that the number of visitors to Koh Tachai was limited at 400 a day.

He said the island has three waste water treatment plants so it was not true that wasted water was released into the sea.

Nat added that he has instructed all business operators not to violate the park rules for preserving the nature.

The reefs around Koh Tachai were severely damaged by high water temperatures causing coral bleaching some years ago, it had little or nothing to do with any pollution. I have seen the before and after condition of the reefs and the change was dramatic, but (very) slowly recuperating since then.

In fact the waters around Koh Tachai have been, in my experience, the cleanest and clearest I have seen in Thailand; the main problem in the area is illegal fishing, not pollution.

I looked up the picture and all that it shows is the corals under the water, there's no oil slick, algal bloom or any type of pollution apparent.

400 per day is a bad joke. In high season you have about 30 speed boats per day going to Tachai. 30 x approx. 30 pax per boat = 400 ( in Thailand ).

The rest of the park fees go where to ?? Yes, right...

Time for the newspapers to stop taking the word of interested parties and do their own investigating.