Irresponsible hotel operators on Koh Ngai in Krabi province are dumping their garbage at popular dive sites off the island, according to the president of a nearby tourism association.
Prateep Jongthong, of adjacent Trang province, said some of about 10 hotel operators on Koh Ngai island were to blame.
He said they ordered their Myanmar workers to weigh down the garbage bags and toss them in the sea. The ties on the bags were later loosened and spread the garbage off the island. He urged authorities to take action to solve the problem.
A similar complaint was posted on the Love Too Far Away page on Facebook. The poster claimed to be a tour guide taking tourists from the island on canoe trips.
He said he was embarassed when his foreign clients asked him why garbage was scattered under and over the water where such beautiful coral abounded and was enjoyed by visitors to the area.
He said he was left speechless and instead tried to collect the garbage from the water.
National park officials only collect entry fees from tourists there, but do not bother to warn resort hotels not to dump their rubbish at sea, the poster said. Nor do they take action against boat operators who drop anchor on the reefs, causing damage to the coral, the poster said.
Koh Ngai is part of the Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park. As it is also easily accessible from Trang, officials of the Hat Chao Mai National Park in Trang are also assigned to help protect the island.