New coral reefs found off Phuket

[webfact]

New coral reefs found off Phuket
Darawan Naknakhon


Officials and life guards mark out the area where the new reefs have been found.

PHUKET: -- Sirinart National Park officials have blocked off an area of sea covering about 10 rai after finding new corals reefs. They have stated there will be no boats or swimming allowed in the area.

Yesterday (March 23), Sirinart National Park officials, officials from the Phuket National Marine Parks and Protected Areas Innovation Centre laid out buoys to mark out an area near Koh Pling opposite the Sirinart National Park office building in Nai Yang.

The area, set to mark where the new corals lay, has been blocked in the hope it will discourage people from swimming in the area. It is also a sign for fishing and other boats not to anchor near or in the site so that the coral reefs remain undamaged.

Deputy Chief of Sirinart National Park, Neramit Songsang said that after officials had surveyed the area on Sunday (March 22) and discovered an abundance of new coral, they want to protect and preserve the area to prevent it from being damaged by human activities.

“The new coral reefs we have found cover an area of 10 rai and we want to discourage tourists from swimming in the area or for boats to anchor here, especially during low tide. This will give the coral a chance to fully develop.

“As for a long term plan, Sirinart National Park has requested a budget from the Department of Natural Park Wildlife and Plant Conservation to support officers who will be working on land and in water to watch over the reefs.

“In the near future we will place bigger buoys where it is okay for the boats to moor to permanently protect the coral reefs once they have fully grown. We want to preserve it as a tourist attraction where tourists can dive to see coral reefs,” he said.

On Sunday, Sirinart National Park officials put a “Do Not Enter” sign around the area and had officers and life guards monitor vessel traffic between 3pm-6:30pm when the tide is low and you can see the reef clearly.

Yesterday they put out small buoys around as a temporary marking.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/new-coral-reefs-found-off-phuket-51551.php


-- Phuket News 2015-03-24

[macknife]

And these just like 'appeared' right outside their office?

[BKKdreaming]

Hide them !

you know there will be tourist boats there with everyone taking a coral piece home.....

move those markers a few Km away and forget you ever saw them ,

otherwise they will be gone in a couple years

[hansgruber]

Great. Should have said nothing. Now you highlight the reef as a potential dive site to exploit.

Monsoon season will rip those markers out with one big storm.

[Gonsalviz]

Yeah, highlight these reefs in the news and surround them with markers. That will keep people away.

[OOLEEBER]

What a bunch of cynical posters you are.

".....requested a budget .......... to support officers who will be working on land and in water to watch over the reefs ".

They are doing what they should be doing in my opinion.

[KarenBravo]

What a bunch of cynical posters you are.

".....requested a budget .......... to support officers who will be working on land and in water to watch over the reefs ".

They are doing what they should be doing in my opinion.

Yes......whilst the cameras are on them......

[sandrabbit]

welcome to the real world little reef. it's not as if it's just Thailand, it has been discovered that there are probably more cold water reefs than warm water one's and countries like Norway refuse to ban the practice of bottom trawling.

see http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080215121207.htm

Bottom trawling, an industrial fishing method that drags large, heavy nets across the seafloor stirs up huge, billowing plumes of sediment on shallow seafloors that can be seen from space. As a result of scientific studies showing that bottom trawling kills vast numbers of corals, sponges, fishes and other animals, bottom trawling has been banned in a growing number of places in recent years. Now satellite images show that spreading clouds of mud remain suspended in the sea long after the trawler has passed.

[hansgruber]

What a bunch of cynical posters you are.

".....requested a budget .......... to support officers who will be working on land and in water to watch over the reefs ".

They are doing what they should be doing in my opinion.

Those markers will be lucky to last half the monsoon season and they won't replace them again. Since when do things receive maintenance in Thailand?

[keestha]

Remember a few years back (roughly 2010) a large reef was discovered off Thai Meuang between Phuket and Khao Lak. Heard nothing of it since.