ENVIRONMENTAL NEWSLETTER APRIL 2004

Dear All,

I think it's safe to say that right now way too many dive boats and divers are allowed to operate in the Similan Islands Marine National Park. The most popular dive sites of the Similans are (always) crowded and make the experience for dive tourists not very enjoyable. Large dive boats drop and pick-up their divers right above the dive site (rather than using dinghies) and thus create a lot of noise pollution and scary moments for divers on the reef.
Also, some dive boats dump (some of) their waste straight on the reef, making it all an even worse experience and potentially an unhealthy environment for both divers and marine life. Moorings are mostly attached to live or dead coral heads ("bommies") and are not strong enough to hold the majority of large diving vessels in place.
Already several coral heads have broken off and/or are cracking and damaging the reef.
I'm personally all for fewer moorings on the shallow reefs and introducing mandatory dinghy entries and exits for scuba divers and snorkellers alike. Big vessels should stay on stand-by (away from the reef) or throw anchor on the sandy bottom in deep water away from the dive site. The National Park Staff does not seem to be patrolling the reefs and/or checking on illegal activities within the Park's boundaries. Nor is the Park Staff checking incoming vessels at sea on numbers of tourists and divers entering the Park and payment of fees. Visiting boats are supposed to check in themselves at any of the 3 ranger-stations which of course leaves a lot of space for cheating on their behalf.
The closure of several dive sites for 3 years now has also contributed to the overcrowding of the still open dive sites. There seems to be no proof that closure of dive sites for years in a row has allowed the reef to regenerate faster than if the dive sites would have been open to divers. Dive sites not frequently visited by dive boats and their divers tend to become soon places where fishing boats will anchor and clean/fix their nets and/or fish as well. Divers have no desire to damage the reef but may occasionally by accident break some coral or dislodge some other marine organisms. Divers in general take care of the reef environment, move around carefully, pick up trash and fishing lines and are all for keeping "their" reefs nice and healthy. Divers from all over the world come to Thailand to see nice healthy coral reefs, lots of fish and exotic critters. Richelieu Rock is a great example of that (outside the Marine National Park boundaries) and would not have been such a great dive site today if no divers were allowed to dive there. The biggest threat to the dive sites of the Andaman Sea is the enormous pressure of fishing trawlers and boats that drop anchors and garbage on the reefs and put their nets/traps and lines right on top of or way too close to the fragile coral reefs.
I do think that tourist and dive boats should be monitored and have some minimum safety and environmental standards before being able to get a license to dive the Similan and Surin Marine National Parks. Boat crew should have proper licenses and be educated on the special rules that may apply to them within the Marine National Park boundaries. Dive sites should be open to a limited number of divers at a time and divers should be accompanied by qualified, certified and insured dive crew only. Park rangers should frequently patrol the Park and visit incoming vessels, check on payment of fees, licensing and general standards. Only then we may be able to enjoy the Similans and other Andaman Sea dive sites for many more years to come.