What just happened to Kamala Beach

[phuketandsee]

Calling all you oceanographers - I walk on Kamala beach every evening and in three years I have never seen so much crap as there was last night. The previous evening it was clean but last night it looked like a year's worth of rubbish had washed up overnight including several large logs. I don't think there was a major storm. Could it have been something to do with the full moon?

Edited July 2, 2015 by phuketandsee

[phuketandsee]

And big challenge for the wedding photos:

[FBlue72]

Those pics are nothing compared to Bang Tao which is even worse, all 8 kilometers of it just encrusted with garbage, not wood and boat flotsam stuff but plastic garbage, just covered. Sickening. Phuket a world- class destination? What a complete lie.

I am extremely sorry I bothered to visit. I don't dare go near the water and forget walking barefoot on the beach Garbage is also everywhere along the roads, impromptu dumps all over, too. ( and not just Phuket )

Will not return and will spread the word.

Edited July 2, 2015 by FBlue72

[steelepulse]

Happens every year and I've seen it worse. Was at Kata yesterday and it looked the same. Hated going in the water but had to get the sand off.

The big blow between India and Thailand has sent this floatsom our way. http://www.windguru.cz/int/index.php?sc=310

[phuketrichard]

i walked it yesterday about 5 m, i too can not recall seeing it so bad before.

day before it was normal

[FBlue72]

As evidenced from the writing on a great deal of it, it's Thai garbage. And likely from the dozens of boats parked offshore (with the bright lights on all night ) and Thai garbage thrown along the roads that washes into streams, and gets into the sea. I hate to know what else is in there, reading up has untreated sewage flows in daily on all the beaches. I guess there is a good reason water tests are not publicized.

[beechbum]

BIG tides yesterday, haven't you noticed the full moon?

Edited July 2, 2015 by beechbum

[losworld]

When will this govt wake up and start a litter campaign?

[Pomthai]

BIG tides yesterday, haven't you noticed the full moon?

^ This.

Spring tides plus lower pressure and some wind means the water comes higher washing all the crap thats built up just above the high tide line onto the beaches, combine this with the little bit of rain we've had to wash the other shit out of the drains and this is the result.

Its disgusting and completely avoidable if people would not litter.

Edited July 2, 2015 by Pomthai

[Somtamnication]

Talking about the guy on the far left with his ass sticking out, or the garbage on the beach?

[chub]

Let me add my experience to this discussion. I'm a regular walker on a west coast beach for more than ten years.

I believe there are four sources of beach debris:

1. When it rains heavily all the garbage thrown into upper reaches of the streams ('drains') that run through all the west coast beaches is carried into the sea and then dumped on the beach by the onshore winds. This garbage include most of the local litter: plastic bags and bottles, food containers, shoes, M150 and Carabou bottles, rotten vegetables, cut vegetation, soil, tree branches and small timber running off construction sites. When the drains flood heavily the freshwater eels that live in these fetid waters also end up on the beach.

2. At all times except full moon, there are dozens of boats anchored off shore catching squid using bright lights. Other boats are trawling. Crews are mostly Burmese who discard all their waste into the sea so the on-shore wind blows it on to the beaches. This probably accounts for half the beach garbage and it consists of lengths of nylon rope, netting, round net floats, toothbrushes, oil cans, plastic Burmese cigarette cans, light bulbs, rotten vegetables and fruit, bottles cut in half for use as funnels, M150 bottles and a wide variety of other domestic-type waste.

The local fishermen also lay bamboo traps marked by buoys made of clusters of water bottles. These wash up often forming big tangles of bamboo, traps, rope and nets. Fish of no commercial value such as puffer fish are thrown into the sea dead, and rot on the beach.

3. Garbage left by beachgoers and vendors includes beer bottles, plastic water bottles, hats and clothes, toys, cigarette ends, polystyrene containers and plastic bags from convenience stores. Also a lot of coins. The land behind the beach is used as a toilet by the tuk tuk driver encampments.

4. Ocean garbage. There is a huge amount of floating garbage in the oceans. When the summer westerly winds blow across the Andaman, a lot of it is washed on to Phuket's beaches. The long-distance garbage can be recognised by the shellfish that attach to floating objects which take months to form a colony. Garbage that can float for months includes heavy mooring ropes, baulks of timber and tree trunks, bits of boats, lumps of insulating foam and a wide variety of mostly plastic debris and fishing gear. Among this garbage are the ocean-crossing plastic bottles. I often pick up un familiar-looking plastic bottles to see where they originated. yesterday I found one from South Africa. Bottles from the Maldives are quite common, and of course from Malaysia and Myanmar.

Yesterday I found a washing machine tub and a cathode ray tube TV.

So that's what you can expect to find on Phuket's beaches at this time of the year.

[SOTIRIOS]

...it's called 'dumping garbage in the sea'....

...why confine it to land......

[Mudcrab]

Talking about the guy on the far left with his ass sticking out, or the garbage on the beach?

Guess the gay marriage thing has got a lot of people excited.

Edited July 2, 2015 by Mudcrab

[Alwyn]

As evidenced from the writing on a great deal of it, it's Thai garbage. And likely from the dozens of boats parked offshore (with the bright lights on all night ) and Thai garbage thrown along the roads that washes into streams, and gets into the sea. I hate to know what else is in there, reading up has untreated sewage flows in daily on all the beaches. I guess there is a good reason water tests are not publicized.

Just FYI those boats are the squid fishermen, the lights draw the squid in toward the boats

[ToddinChonburi]

Welcome to Thailand.

[louse1953]

The sea has had enough,it just had a big spew.There is only so much you can dump before it comes back.Humans are slow learners and it is already too late.JIT will not work this time.

[phuketlive]

Last time i saw this was in koh samui, was not that bad but very surprised noboday cares to clean... a shame for tourists to see this...

[phuketandsee]

There has to be more to it than this.

1. Full moons are a regular occurrence but I have never seen it this bad.

2. There aren't so many fishing/squid boats out now due to the "crack down" and the squid boat lights were noticeably absent on Tuesday night

3. It appeared all overnight.

4. Look at the size of these trees - now way did they come through storm drains or off fishing boats.

[nakhonandy]

There has to be more to it than this.

1. Full moons are a regular occurrence but I have never seen it this bad.

2. There aren't so many fishing/squid boats out now due to the "crack down" and the squid boat lights were noticeably absent on Tuesday night

3. It appeared all overnight.

4. Look at the size of these trees - now way did they come through storm drains or off fishing boats.

20150702_180204.jpg

20150702_180808.jpg

1. The current full moon is very strong, causing exceptional tides

2. The squid boats don't fish during a full moon, no point. However the rubbish they dumped before takes some time to reach shore

3. I guess that is when the high tide was

4. This is stuff coming in from far away probably not local. Probably been in the ocean for weeks or more.

It is probably just a coincidence that it all happened on one night as I can't think of another explanation.

But agree with other posters 90% of this is locally generated, people need to be educated not to litter and fined if caught doing so.

[crickets]

Still looks cleaner than jomtien beach evety morning.

[mikiea]

Let me add my experience to this discussion. I'm a regular walker on a west coast beach for more than ten years.

I believe there are four sources of beach debris:

1. When it rains heavily all the garbage thrown into upper reaches of the streams ('drains') that run through all the west coast beaches is carried into the sea and then dumped on the beach by the onshore winds. This garbage include most of the local litter: plastic bags and bottles, food containers, shoes, M150 and Carabou bottles, rotten vegetables, cut vegetation, soil, tree branches and small timber running off construction sites. When the drains flood heavily the freshwater eels that live in these fetid waters also end up on the beach.

2. At all times except full moon, there are dozens of boats anchored off shore catching squid using bright lights. Other boats are trawling. Crews are mostly Burmese who discard all their waste into the sea so the on-shore wind blows it on to the beaches. This probably accounts for half the beach garbage and it consists of lengths of nylon rope, netting, round net floats, toothbrushes, oil cans, plastic Burmese cigarette cans, light bulbs, rotten vegetables and fruit, bottles cut in half for use as funnels, M150 bottles and a wide variety of other domestic-type waste.

The local fishermen also lay bamboo traps marked by buoys made of clusters of water bottles. These wash up often forming big tangles of bamboo, traps, rope and nets. Fish of no commercial value such as puffer fish are thrown into the sea dead, and rot on the beach.

3. Garbage left by beachgoers and vendors includes beer bottles, plastic water bottles, hats and clothes, toys, cigarette ends, polystyrene containers and plastic bags from convenience stores. Also a lot of coins. The land behind the beach is used as a toilet by the tuk tuk driver encampments.

4. Ocean garbage. There is a huge amount of floating garbage in the oceans. When the summer westerly winds blow across the Andaman, a lot of it is washed on to Phuket's beaches. The long-distance garbage can be recognised by the shellfish that attach to floating objects which take months to form a colony. Garbage that can float for months includes heavy mooring ropes, baulks of timber and tree trunks, bits of boats, lumps of insulating foam and a wide variety of mostly plastic debris and fishing gear. Among this garbage are the ocean-crossing plastic bottles. I often pick up un familiar-looking plastic bottles to see where they originated. yesterday I found one from South Africa. Bottles from the Maldives are quite common, and of course from Malaysia and Myanmar.

Yesterday I found a washing machine tub and a cathode ray tube TV.

So that's what you can expect to find on Phuket's beaches at this time of the year.

[hawksway]

That's why holidays in Phuket are so cheap at this time of the year. They really need the equivalent of the Fire Brigade - call it the Beach Brigade (better than calling it The Shit Shovel), painted green with blue and red warning lights and crews in protective suits, plus heavy duty cleaning tools to make light of the work. Worth the Tessa Ban spending the money to recover Phuket's tourist investment when it get's this bad.

[thailandforumaddict]

Nothing special here, its everywhere and all the time, is it the first day that you walk on a beach or the first day that you open your eyes when walking ?

<3

[beechbum]

There has to be more to it than this.

1. Full moons are a regular occurrence but I have never seen it this bad.

2. There aren't so many fishing/squid boats out now due to the "crack down" and the squid boat lights were noticeably absent on Tuesday night

3. It appeared all overnight.

4. Look at the size of these trees - now way did they come through storm drains or off fishing boats.

20150702_180204.jpg

20150702_180808.jpg

Have seen the beaches like that loads of times over the years unfortunately. Edited July 2, 2015 by beechbum

[NamKangMan]

And big challenge for the wedding photos:

20150701_183420.jpg

You can photoshop the Phuket beach out, and replace it with a beach from somewhere else.

[phuketandsee]

Nothing special here, its everywhere and all the time, is it the first day that you walk on a beach or the first day that you open your eyes when walking ?

<3

Not everywhere and definitely not all the time. Re-read my OP, I walk the length of this beach almost every day and many times twice a day and this is the worst it has been in 3 years - by far.

[AlQaholic]

As Phomtai already said in post number 9:

During the year there is a build up of garbage on neighboring small islands. Then when the high tide of the year or the highest tide in several years comes all that garbage floats away from the Islands and all floats up together on various beaches depending on currents. That is why it all comes up on the beaches in such big quantities at the same time.

Edited July 3, 2015 by AlQaholic

[Jimi007]

Nothing special here, its everywhere and all the time, is it the first day that you walk on a beach or the first day that you open your eyes when walking ?

<3

Not everywhere and definitely not all the time. Re-read my OP, I walk the length of this beach almost every day and many times twice a day and this is the worst it has been in 3 years - by far.

The monsoonal wind brings in all the crap from offshore every year about this time of year. It's been that way for the 10 years I've had a house there.

[Johnny S]

Most thai beaches are a garbage dump - want a nice Beach go to Vietnam, Hoi An or Da Nang. They keep it clean every day, have sunbeds (45B which you get back if eat lunch there) and wow wow clean Waters - not like the cess pits in Thailand ...

"World class destiantion Phuket" always makes me laugh so thanks for that

[steelepulse]

Nai Harn looked cleaner yesterday than the day in question which started the thread.