Coral 'needs years' to recover

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EXPERT SAYS CLOSING DIVE SITES ONLY ONE MEASURE OF MANY NEEDED TO BATTLE BLEACHING

Published: 23/01/2011 at 02:22 AM
Newspaper section: News

Closing popular diving sites will provide only short-term relief to the problem of coral bleaching, but cost the tourism industry millions of baht a year, industry experts say.

WHITE OUT: No easy solution to bleaching.

The Marine and Coastal Resources Department is pressing ahead with a plan to close 10 popular diving sites in five provinces to limit the impact of tourism on severely damaged coral.

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: Writer: Piyaporn Wongruang; Position: Reporter

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annan
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Discussion 8 : 23/01/2011 at 06:45 PM8
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One thing that divers do build up bleeching with is when they dont have a septic tank. Human sh*t is not good for corals or fellow divers ... Same here as in Egypt, if you play it safe and build a better boat that will bring everything back to shore the dive sites will be there tomorrow.

Divers crashing beacuse of problem with their position in the water is probably not as bad as net fishing ... I cant recall a lot of divers here with more then shortys? Hit the reef with that and you will remember that lesson for a long time.
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porky
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Discussion 7 : 23/01/2011 at 06:21 PM7
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Coral bleaching is a global issue, for a start study how developed/informed regions are addressing the issue, a knee jerk ban on diving will cost the tourism industry dearly.
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eggi
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Discussion 6 : 23/01/2011 at 03:03 PM6
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The bleaching is undoubtedly not caused right by the divers. But instead of a dive embargo, the authorities should proceed something equally the Queensland authorities for the Great Barriere Reef. Strict regulations to the dive industry. Stop those fast wash 3 day courses to become a certified diver.
Many of the hundreds of thousands of divers, who just complete a few dives per year, if that much, are just not able to perform a proper buoyancy control. That's often the reason they just smash into the corals. Supervisors are not able to maintain control because groups are too big.
In my opinion, education is the key point. A beginner course just last at least 5 days with the appropriate pricing. No fast crash courses for a few Baht for a Discount hunter
Further, groups for leisure dives must kept small and lead by a professional.

I'm an experienced Master Instructor with far more than 4000 dives.
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faceless1
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Discussion 5 : 23/01/2011 at 12:39 PM5
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What exactly is the "(negative)impact of tourism" on reefs as far as SCUBA diving is concerned? "... diving operators say tourism is but one cause of the bleaching phenomenon" - but they don't explain precisely how divers play a part in bleaching. I can understand the negative impact of the happy day-tripper snorkelling tourists who may crush living coral underfoot or take away souvenirs from the shallow reefs, although that has been going on ages before the current bleaching problem. The agreed major cause is ocean warming, so surely man-made reefs or zoning would not solve the basic problem.
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taz
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Discussion 4 : 23/01/2011 at 11:54 AM4
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Marine natural parks should be off limits period. The whole point of a natural park to keep it natural and without technology so as to preserve its natural state of order. I think the suggestion of man made reefs and dive attractions in zoned locations would serve many benefits and needs to be pursued. Keeps the operators in business where they can let loose their customers in a man made environment which could absorb the damage easier.
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somchai
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Discussion 3 : 23/01/2011 at 11:51 AM3
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Yet another example on how Thailand changed to the worse during the Thaksin dictatorship where money and greed were first priority.
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bop
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Discussion 2 : 23/01/2011 at 10:06 AM2
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How do divers cause bleaching?
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siamitude
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Discussion 1 : 23/01/2011 at 09:49 AM1
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Greed,selfishness, incompetence, corruption, lack of law enforcement...
The tourism resource has always been abused. Quick profit is always more important then sustainability.
Tourism operators can't complain now, because they did it to themselves. Now comes the time for all of us to pay the bill.
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Coral 'needs years' to recover | Bangkok Post: news