Dynamite fishing near Phuket?

[Zippsy]

I just saw a disturbing report on another forum:

Hi all,

I just want to share a strange phenomenom i witness at Hin Muang last weekend on 11th March (Sunday). I was diving with Lanta Diver at Hin Muang in the morning around 11am.

As we descend, we noticed alot of dead fishes lying around. Many moray eels were out of their holes, swimming about. There were even a couple of small dead ones. Cleaner shrimps and Hinge-beaked shrimps were out of their hiding places too and they are not not afraid to be swimming about at the entrance of their caves. I saw 2 full grown titan triggers lying on their sides breathing hard. Also, saw a frogfish gasping, opening its mouth real wide, as if just finish a marathon.

We surfaced after 30-35mins. All the divemasters were quite alarmed at what we have seen. A couple were afraid there is cyanide in the water and proposed to cancel the 2nd dive. Our boat radioed other boats at Hin Daeng and was told the same thing is happening there. The DMs speculated that the fishes are dying from lack of oxygen. Looks like many of the small ones did not make it and the larger ones are having a hard time hanging on.

After much discussion, the DMs told us that it most probably is not cyanide and maybe due to the spawning of "something" that sucks up all the oxygen. None the less, we were still told to have a good wash down with fresh water. They checked that Koh Haa was alright and we did our second dive there. I did not see the same thing happening at Koh Haa. I hope that it is only contain to a local area and the Hin Muang/Deang will recover at a few days.

If someone here has witnessed that same thing before at any dive sites, please kindly share your experience. I would like to know the cause. Its my first time seeing such phenomenon and the DMs from Lanta Diver said that with their many years of diving, it was still there first time seeing such thing happening.

My guess in dynamite fishing as I have seen this before in the Philippines. I didn't know it was happening in the usual dive sites near Phuket though. Anyone else witness this incident or know what happened? Is it still going on?

 

[stevenl]

Does not sound good. There were some problems with dynamite fishing in that area I guess about 10 years ago, but that seemed to be ok.

It sounds like a lack of oxygen to me, and the cause of that? cyanide fishing is usually very local, so doubt that is the cause.

 

[MoonWrasse]

Perhaps red tide.

http://www.phuketgazette.com/news/index.asp?id=5559

 

[Ringo]

Very disturbing! Don't know if it is the red tide as we still have some here on Karon Beach and the marine life is thriving at the moment. Presently we are seeing more than usual. Although I do know that in S.A the red tide there used to kill off the shellfish.

Would be interesting to know if there was any plankton (and if so what colour) in the water etc?

 

[Mr. Sunday]

When I was living in Pattaya Thailand we had the same problem. The locals would regularly use dynamite. It was always so frustrating to see. The idea of conserving nature is not always a priority. I remember a slow day of diving so I spent the day picking up trash on the sea floor. I pulled up a couple of trash bags full of junk brought them onboard. On the way back into port I saw the deck hands throwing everything I had brought up back over the side. Total waste of time. Its just a different outlook.

 

[MoonWrasse]

When I was living in Pattaya Thailand we had the same problem. The locals would regularly use dynamite. It was always so frustrating to see. The idea of conserving nature is not always a priority. I remember a slow day of diving so I spent the day picking up trash on the sea floor. I pulled up a couple of trash bags full of junk brought them onboard. On the way back into port I saw the deck hands throwing everything I had brought up back over the side. Total waste of time. Its just a different outlook.

If it was "dynamite" fishing - and they don't use real dynamite as I understand - the corals would show signs of it. You can see this more up towards Burma.

 

[Zeamonkey]

The Red Tide has been around the area incl. koh Haa, Koh Bida, Phi Phi sites for several weeks, moving around, but its not untill the 11th of March, that we saw a reaction from the marinelife and corals (assuming this is caused by Red Tide). Hin Muang is the worst hit site, with lots of dead marinelife, espec. morays. A team went out yesterday to Hin Daeng to asses the situation, and it seems like hin Daeng is strugling but still in form for diving. Most diveshops on koh lanta has stopped going there for the moment. Hopefully things will return to "normal" but the balance of the reef has been disturbed....

 

[Bowmouth]

I find it hard to believe that there could be such a lack of oxygen in a current exposed deep open water area like Hin Daeng and Hin Muang that marinelife would suffocate and die.

It sounds to me more like dynamite fishing than anything else. The morays swim around because they got a free meal and some fish "gasping" looks like they're unable to swim because of ruptured swim bladder and then they desperately try to stay alive by pumping water over their gills.

Both Hin Daeng and Hin Muang do not have lots of hard coral and damage to the reef may be hard to find. Look for bits and pieces of pottery, they indicate dynamite fishing because the mixture of fertilizer and diesel fuel used as explosive is being put in large clay jars that are then being detonated on or close to the reef.

VERY bad news indeed!

 

[Batfish]

I will make a note to ask the boats about this. Mermaid II is down at Hin Daeng this weekend. I'll ask them for a report.

 

[Ex-Aquanaut]

Sad to say dynamite fishing is still going on in Thailand and not only in Phuket. Our famed and beloved Hardeep wreck in Pattaya was damaged about 5 weeks ago by dynamite fishing ON THE WRECK.

Idiots.

We found out about it because it was in the paper and then went and looked and part of the front of the ship had a hole blown in it and part of it is now collapsed.

Time and abuse is unfortunately taking its toll on the Hardeep. I exepct this fine WWII freighter won't be around in current form in a couple years. Dive it now.