Similan conditions now

[Quero]

martinetti, don't worry about having inadvertently caused offense. Your post simply reflected what consumers around the world assume are the motives of any retailer--sell, sell, sell, by any means. I don't believe most of us in the scuba industry here in Thailand are like that, though there may be some exceptions.

While operators working in the Andaman Sea don't necessarily want to trumpet bad news, I'm not aware that any of us on this board actually misrepresent any existing conditions, whether it be a coral bleaching episode such as the one earlier this year or a widespread plankton bloom such as we had a few seasons ago. In fact, you can see lots of discussion about the coral bleaching event earlier this year with frankly expressed alarm by many of us, and no attempt to say it wasn't taking place. We have been accused of coverups, though, and as a result, sometimes we can become overly defensive.

The bottom line is that yes, there was some damage, and yes, we are gladdened by the fact that recovery is taking place, and we hope that the reefs that have been damaged will soon display their former splendor. Thailand is still a great place to come diving!

 

[jdfmail]

Conditions were great. Confirm mantas were still at Ko Bon as of Saturday. Viz is above average and although some sites had noticeable damage most are still first rate. Hin Muang had damage a few years back and has come back beautifully so hopefully no worries there.

 

[Arizona]

Can't wait till March!

 

[sffrenchman]

I was there last week. Did not dive the similans proper but dived Koh Bon and Koh Tachai, since the coral bleaching is less extensive there (we were told). Did not see any mantas on the trip and the coral bleaching was indeed limited there. The diving was good but not exceptional in my opinion. Richelieu however was fantastic with lots of life (did four dives there).

We also dived Myanmar and I thought that many sites were overfished and quite damaged. One site was littered with dead fish from dynamite fishing and there was very little life left there. On a few occasions, we could hear explosions underwater. I don't think that I will dive Myanmar again.

 

[conundrum]

I found 4 Manta rays at Kho Bon on 3 December 2010.

 

[Bowmouth]

I found 4 Manta rays at Kho Bon on 3 December 2010.

They're not mine but if nobody wants them I would be willing to take them from you.

 

[Martinoo]

Coral Garden a mainly totally destroyed between surface & 15m

No possibility to recovery the polyp are dead

 

[AleG]

I hope the good conditions hold until New Year.
I did a liveaboard to the Similans and Surin in New Year 2008/2009 and the sea was a bit rough then. The boat actually broke the mooring line at Richellieu Rock because of the heavy seas; nothing like coming up from diving a pinnacle in the middle of the sea to see that the boat is gone. :shocked2: We bobbed on the surface for some minutes before we were spotted and the zodiac was sent for us.

 

[Bowmouth]

No possibility to recovery the polyp are dead

That's not the whole story.

The dead hard coral will eventually fall apart and get "glued" together by coralline algae.
The glued together bits and pieces will become a base for new hard coral to stick to and grow on.

True, it will take a while but eventually a new hard coral reef will have replaced the old dead coral reef. Until another extended warm-water period bleaches and kills of the hard coral once more....

 

[Gandytron]

I dived two sites on the Similan's on Christmas Day. They were both sites that I have dived in earlier years and I was quite depressed to see the degree to which these sites have been damaged. It is good to hear that the sites further north of the Similans are less damaged by bleaching, but I wonder if the Similan Islands National Park should be closed to divers for a while to encourage full and rapid recovery. From what I was told about corruption amongst the Park officials, it seems that this is unlikley to happen, but it would be interesting to hear what measures (if any) dive operators have agreed amongst themselves to minimise pressure on especially vulnerable areas.