Phuket ‘Try Dive’ tours blasted for coral damage

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Phuket ‘Try Dive’ tours blasted for coral damage

Eakkapop Thongtub

 

Try Dive tourists and unprofessional instructors have been blamed for damaging coral reefs off Phuket. Photo: Paitoon Panchaiyaphom

 

PHUKET: -- A local marine conservationist has blasted the surge in “Try Dive” tours for damage to coral reefs at key dive tour sites off Phuket.

 

Local marine conservationist Paitoon Panchaiyaphom was attending to a reef at Plub Pla Bay at Koh Racha, south of Phuket, as part of his local conservation group’s efforts to protect the reef when he saw a dive instructor with two divers stepping on corals nearby.

 

“The dive instructor with his two divers at times walked on the corals and the instructor led them to feed the fish underwater,” he said.

 

Mr Paitoon blasted the surge in enthusiasm for the “Try Dive” beginner dive courses, in which people who have never dived before are led on basic tours to introduce them to the experience of diving.

 

Full story: http://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-try-dive-tours-blasted-for-coral-damage-60475.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2017-01-04

[stevenl]

A try dive, if done properly, has minimal impact on the environment, as noted by mr. Paitoon. The tours he specifically mentioned are organised snorkeling tours, where diving is sold as an add-on on board for the prices mentioned, and 'instructors' are often not qualified. But even with qualified instructors it seems that quite often all the instructor cares about is the additional income he can gain from making and selling photos of the participants, often damaging corals in the process.

 

Unfortunately he is correct, and something needs to be done.

[kbelyeu]

The same shit is happening in Koh Samet.  We were snorkeling while the idiots were allowing their Korean customers walk on the coral using their hands and feet.

[Elkski]

I think it is to late for Thailands reefs.    its all F..k.ed up and its to late. JUst look at all the bleaching.   I was on PHI PHI dive company boat last July... the dive master commonly put a finger on the coral to stop himself..  It was a careful single finger but I can assure that this is not acceptable in Mexico.  No way should a beginner divers be allowed near coral... first dives should be done in a pool or in sandy bottom areas.   They need to make good dive reefs no fishing zones also..   Luckily Mexico and many Caribbean islands knew this 30 years ago..  I will try a few more locations but my opinion is that the   Diving sucks in Thailand.   For a newbie it would be impressive but for someone who cut his teeth on Cozumel in the mid 80's   I felt it was such a rip off..  

[gk10002000]

18 hours ago, kbelyeu said:

The same shit is happening in Koh Samet.  We were snorkeling while the idiots were allowing their Korean customers walk on the coral using their hands and feet.

Way back in 2004, the same week as the Tsunami we went on a nice little half day snorkeling trip around Ko Samet.  I was very disappointed on the blandness of things.   It looked like an awful lot of sediment, probably washed off the land or man made stuff covered everything.  Really wasn't very colorful or live looking at all

[The Old Bull]

I took the PADI diving at Kho Phi Phi about ten years ago. The instructor told me never to touch coral as there are nasty things lurking therein. After she pointed out a lion fish and some other nasties I got the message and have never touched any coral.