New Photography Rules in Thailand

[Diver-6873]

New rules for divers and even snorkelers announced in Thailand. Personally I think these should be put into place around the world . . . Maybe even stricter in some places.

Thailand Clampdown on Underwater Photography by Scuba Divers

New regulations aim to protect fragile coral reefs, with restrictions on cameras for less experienced divers

www.nationthailand.com

 

[TostitoBandito]

Yeah I'm fine with this. Not sure what constitutes a "deep" dive, but I'm guessing deeper than around 20m/66f since I think that's around where certain certification agencies technically want you to have AOW (as silly as that seems).

 

[Anbaric Cog]

I’m okay with this too. However it’s not a perfect fix as I just was diving with a large group and one of the “instructors”kept bonking the reef and didnt seem to know or care what his fins hit after finishing a shot
His trim and buoyancy looked okay in open water

 

[Nemrod]

The problem here is unskilled divers with a camera but the bigger problem is unskilled divers without a camera. I just watched a few days ago a woman with free dive fiberglass fins water walk across the top of the reef ledge flapping her arms like an eagle. And she did not have a camera. And those dragging consoles and inflators. And none of that requires a camera to damage the reef. And divers who despite being told not to touch must touch everything as if somehow they are exempted.

Not sure how being a "deep" diver or whatever will prevent reef damage as no advanced course I know of produces actually skilled advanced divers. Maybe it is time for there to be an Environmental Advanced Diver course that requires demonstration of skill and an understanding to not touch, grab or hold the reef and a minimum of 100 dives upon completion and demonstrate perfect trim/buoyancy, situational awareness of where they are and environmental awareness and the ability to maneuver 100% with fins only. With or without a camera.

 

[Bjparris1990]

Interesting take on this. I have seen people with no camera that have no buoyancy skills at all. Why not just tax like Cozumel?

 

[TostitoBandito]

The problem here is unskilled divers with a camera but the bigger problem is unskilled divers without a camera. I just watched a few days ago a woman with free dive fiberglass fins water walk across the top of the reef ledge flapping her arms like an eagle. And she did not have a camera. And those dragging consoles and inflators. And none of that requires a camera to damage the reef. And divers who despite being told not to touch must touch everything as if somehow they are exempted.

Not sure how being a "deep" diver or whatever will prevent reef damage as no advanced course I know of produces actually skilled advanced divers. Maybe it is time for there to be an Environmental Advanced Diver course that requires demonstration of skill and an understanding to not touch, grab or hold the reef and a minimum of 100 dives upon completion and demonstrate perfect trim/buoyancy, situational awareness of where they are and environmental awareness and the ability to maneuver 100% with fins only. With or without a camera.

Sure it's obviously not gonna fix everything, but I feel like it's better than nothing. Just as some inexperienced underwater photographers cause damage, some very experienced ones do as well. And as you point out the majority of divers don't have cameras and there are plenty of bad ones in that group too. As long as this doesn't lead to irrationally blaming photographers for everything, I'm fine with it.

I think the other piece which would help here is if the biggest certification agencies like PADI were to significantly tighten up their open water certification process. No teaching in a circle sitting on the bottom, actually testing skills, not auto passing everyone, heavy emphasis that it is unacceptable to touch ANYTHING underwater, etc... But that's not gonna happen because $$$. I got my NAUI open water in 2003 and it was night and day watching my partner's experience in her PADI open water class a few years ago. She came out of that with a card but with hardly any actual diving skills. She's solid now, but those first few dives after certification were an adventure.

 

[tursiops]

most of the reefs are worldwide are probably going to be dead and gone within the next 20 years anyways

Why do you say this? What are you quoting?

 

[TostitoBandito]

I was being a bit hyperbolic, fair enough.

Anyways, off topic. Don't touch the coral. We can all agree on that.

 

[rmorgan]

Why do you say this? What are you quoting?

Anecdotally, the Jardines de la Reina off of Cuba beached terribly between when we booked a trip in May 2023 until we dove in January 2024. We dove Cape Kri in October 2024, and it was fabulous; by January 2025, it was stark white. Bonaire, well . . . tragic. So, optimism is challenging.

A new International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) report, published this past Wednesday, reports:

From 1 January 2023 to 30 March 2025, bleaching-level heat stress impacted 84% of the world’s reefs, with 82 countries, territories and economies suffering damage. During the first global coral bleaching event in 1998, 21% of reefs experienced bleaching-level heat stress, rising to 37% in the second event in 2010 and 68% during the third event (2014-2017)1. Scientists called the fourth global coral bleaching event “unprecedented” as early as May 2024, and a widely-used bleaching prediction platform had to add three new levels (Levels 3-5) to their Bleaching Alert Scale to indicate the heightened risk of mass coral mortality. The previous highest level, Level 2, indicates risk of mortality to heat sensitive corals; Level 5 indicates the risk of over 80% of all corals on a reef dying due to prolonged bleaching.​

​

A West Papua thermal stress map from 2024, linked, is bleak. Global temperatures will almost certainly continue to rise, and the straight-line connection to bleaching cannot be gainsaid. What percentage, where, and in what year, nobody knows, of course--but it seems clearthat the reefs of a few decades--and often, a few months--past, are in desperate shape.

 

[tursiops]

Anecdotally, the Jardines de la Reina off of Cuba beached terribly between when we booked a trip in May 2023 until we dove in January 2024. We dove Cape Kri in October 2024, and it was fabulous; by January 2025, it was stark white. Bonaire, well . . . tragic. So, optimism is challenging.

A new International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) report, published this past Wednesday, reports:

From 1 January 2023 to 30 March 2025, bleaching-level heat stress impacted 84% of the world’s reefs, with 82 countries, territories and economies suffering damage. During the first global coral bleaching event in 1998, 21% of reefs experienced bleaching-level heat stress, rising to 37% in the second event in 2010 and 68% during the third event (2014-2017)1. Scientists called the fourth global coral bleaching event “unprecedented” as early as May 2024, and a widely-used bleaching prediction platform had to add three new levels (Levels 3-5) to their Bleaching Alert Scale to indicate the heightened risk of mass coral mortality. The previous highest level, Level 2, indicates risk of mortality to heat sensitive corals; Level 5 indicates the risk of over 80% of all corals on a reef dying due to prolonged bleaching.​

​

A West Papua thermal stress map from 2024, linked, is bleak. Global temperatures will almost certainly continue to rise, and the straight-line connection to bleaching cannot be gainsaid. What percentage, where, and in what year, nobody knows, of course--but it seems clearthat the reefs of a few decades--and often, a few months--past, are in desperate shape.

I do not disagree; reefs are endangered, with global warming, pollution, and ocean acidity being the main culprits. I do object to hyperbole, such as saying "most of the reefs are worldwide are probably going to be dead and gone within the next 20 years"