Andaman Coral Bleach - How bad is it in Phi Phi and Krabi? | Thailand - Lonely Planet Forum

ONLINE

Sat, 29 Jan 2011 05:40:31 +0000

Hello,

I was saddened by the news of the massive coral bleaching that apparently affected the Andaman Sea in 2010.

Currently in Thailand, we want to spend only a few days along the Andaman Coast, my girlfriend travelling this part of the world for the first time, thus my question:

any recommendations where we might still see some nice coral? We had thought about a snorkelling trip around Ko Phi Phi and perhaps a multi island trip from Ao Nang on another day.

Still worth going? Or should we just focus on the scenery above as the underwater world might be in sad conditions?

Thanks for your advice,

Frank

ONLINE

Sat, 29 Jan 2011 19:09:33 +0000

Just returned from 2 weeks in Thailand (yesterday), with snorkeling being a big focus. We were on Koh Lipe, Koh Ngai, and north, at Hat Khao Lak. The coral around both Lipe and Ngai looked awful - Ngai in particular persuaded us not to take a trip to the Surin Islands. The guide who took us out (resort deal, lontail and guide for the day) had been taking people our for the past 6 years and said that, beginning 4-6 months ago, things took a dramatic turn for the worse. Most areas we visited were utterly devastated - staghorns bleached white, other corals covered with a brown muck. The government had even closed (the day before our trip) a large area to all activity. Lipe was better once we got further out (the outer parts of the park), but the area around Ko Adang was also heavily impacted. Hope this helps, I was looking for info before we left and couldn't seem to get much of a straight answer.

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.

ONLINE

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 08:42:15 +0000

I hate to say it but snorkeling and diving has gone down in Thailand precipitously in the last decade. Some local places are OK for cute fish and all but I really don't bother snorkeling anymore. No big "wows" anymore. Unless you hit one of the smaller less trafficked islands. Ask Tezza. Maybe he knows more about that.

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.

ONLINE

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 08:43:02 +0000

http://tezzasthaiinfo.blogspot.com/2007/06/index.html

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.

ONLINE

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 11:41:08 +0000

as I read raised the issue myself, here is what I have found myself when visiting Krabi province and Ko Phi Phi:

damage has definitely been done and, along with approx. 80 other diving/snorkelling spots, the Open Water reefs of Hin Klang that used to be the underwater highlight of the day trips to or around Ko Phi Phi is currently off-limits to give the corals a chance for regeneration.

The moratorium is strictly enforced, don't even think of any ways to get around this.

In the other spots (e.g., Bamboo Island, Monkey Bay I + II) some coral is still there, sometimes it's hard to tell whether coral suffered more from bleaching or careless daytrippers.

(I am a peaceful person, but whenever I see an idiot standing on the reef, I have to struggle hard to control myself.)

Let's hope that Andaman Sea can recover once again (as it did after 1991), in the meantime:

enjoy the scenery, good luck for some good underwater experiences elsewhere and take care everyone that we preserve the very corals we had come to see ...

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.

Pro tip