10 Scuba Diving Sites in Thailand Recommended for Closure

The recommendation comes from the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) concerning 10 dive sites inside marine national parks in order to aid in the recovery of damaged coral reefs.

However, the final decision would still rest with the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP).

The sites are Hin Klang off Phi Phi, Mae Yai Tai Peninsula off North Surin Island, the area to the east of South Surin Island, Chong Khad Bay off North Surin Island, Kangkao and Pai Islands in Chon Buri, Yak Island in Trat, Chaloke Ban Kao Bay, Tanod Bay and Surat Thani's Nuansai Beach.

"The coral reefs in these areas have been severely damaged," DMCR director-general Kasemsan Jinnawaso told the press yesterday, adding that he would ask the chiefs of all 26 marine national parks to keep an eye on tourists' activities that could hurt the local environment.

The final decision still lies in the hands of the DNP, he said.

"Closing diving attractions in the Andaman Sea could affect tourism in the area," Kasemsan said.

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Of course, not allowing damaged reefs to recover -- or failing to protect them in the first place -- could also affect tourism in the long run.

Hopefully the DNP makes the right decision and also takes a good look at ways to prevent damage from occurring in the future.

Dive Operator: Great Barrier Reef not Devastated by Flooding to the South

Last week Queensland tourism operators began a campaign to hedge against major losses in the wake of devastating floods in central and southeast Queensland.

Despite experiencing some of the best dive conditions in 20 years, dive operators are specifically having to push through world news headlines to refute reports that the Great Barrier Reef has been destroyed.

Divers are raving about the visibility and weather conditions on the Great Barrier Reef, with at least one industry stalwart describing it as the best he’s seen in 30 years.

As these photographs from Mike Ball Expeditions show, it is a far cry from the flood ravaged image being reported overseas, with some newspapers claiming the Great Barrier Reef has been destroyed.

Mike Ball Diving Expeditions operator Mike Ball said the global coverage of the Queensland floods was having a negative effect on the Far North’s diving industry, despite the floods being at least 1000km away from Cairns.

Mr Ball said some tourists were under the impression there was a plume of muddy water extending from Brisbane up to Cooktown.

"The news is going out worldwide and it’s sort of compelling, the public gets the idea that Queensland’s under water,’’ Mr Ball said.

But on the Reef, the visibility, in particular, was extraordinary for this time of year. "Occasionally you can see the length of a football field or more,’’ Mr Ball said.

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Be sure to check out more photos from a recent Mike Ball Dive Expeditions trip to Ribbon Reefs and Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea.

How Coral Reefs Adapt to Global Warming Could Aid Reef Restoration

A terrific article from Science Daily about the study of the adaptive nature of coral reefs amid the effects of global warming.

Discoveries about tropical coral reefs are expected to be invaluable in efforts to restore the corals, which are succumbing to bleaching and other diseases at an unprecedented rate as ocean temperatures rise worldwide. The research gives new insights into how the scientists can help to preserve or restore the coral reefs that protect coastlines, foster tourism, and nurture many species of fish. The research, which will be published in the journal PLoS One, was accomplished by an international team whose leaders include Iliana Baums, an assistant professor of biology at Penn State University.

The team focused on one of the most abundant reef-building species in the Caribbean, Montastraea faveolata, known as the mountainous star coral. Though widespread, this species is listed as endangered on the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature because its numbers have declined significantly -- in recent years, up to 90 percent of the population has been lost in some areas.

Discovering how corals respond to ocean warming is complicated because corals serve as hosts to algae. The algae live in the coral and feed on its nitrogen wastes. Through photosynthesis, the algae then produce the carbohydrates that feed the coral. When this complex and delicate symbiosis is upset by a rise in ocean temperature, the coral may expel the algae in a phenomenon known as coral bleaching, which may cause the death of both algae and coral. The challenge is to figure out why some corals cope with the heat stress better than others.

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Hat tip: Diving Discoveries (via the comment section of our last post)

Malaysia Closes 12 World-Famous Dive Sites

Authorities claim the coral is being killed off by global warming.

Twelve reefs that attract half a million tourists from around the world annually are now closed to divers and snorkellers until the end of October to allow the corals to recover from bleaching caused by warmer seas.

Abdul Jamal Mydin, director general of the Department of Marine Parks, said that the temperature of the seas has risen to 88F (31C) in recent months, up 4F (2C) from the normal level.

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Hawaii: Wrecking Coral will Cost You

And why wouldn't it? As the article mentions, it's Hawaii's environment that draws such massive tourism.

A Maui tour company is paying the state nearly $400,000 for damaging more than 1,200 coral colonies when one of its boats sank at Molokini, a pristine reef and popular diving spot. Another tour operator faces penalties for wrecking coral when it illegally dropped an anchor on a Maui reef.

The state plans to sue the U.S. Navy to seek compensation for coral ruined when a guided missile cruiser the length of two football fields ran aground near Pearl Harbor in February.

The fines began issuing fines two years ago as part of its efforts to punish those who damage a resource critical to Hawaii's fragile environment and tourism, the state's No. 1 industry.

"People are going to have to be more careful out here, because it if keeps getting damaged, we're going to lose it," said Laura Thielen, chairwoman of the state Board of Land and Natural Resources, which decides how much to fine. "We have to take some very strong action or else it's going to be too late."

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Scuba Divers Repair Damaged Reef off Hawaii

The reef was damaged when the Navy cruiser USS Port Royal ran aground in last month off Honolulu International Airport's reef runway.

The state plans to submit a bill, called an admiralty claim, to the Navy for reimbursement of the cost to repair and clean up the area, said Deborah Ward, state Department of Land and Natural Resources spokeswoman. Ward said she did not have an estimate of the costs.

On another front, the Navy Times reported that it might cost tens of millions of dollars to repair the Port Royal, according to an internal Navy report detailing damage to the $1 billion ship.

Damage to the ship includes both drive shafts and support struts, instruments on the ship's underside, hatches on the forward and aft vertical launch cells, antennae and the wastewater and seawater ballast systems, which are clogged with sand and coral from the reef.

The ship, which had just come out of drydock two months ago after routine maintenance, will likely require months to repair the damage caused by the grounding and 3 1/2 days of rolling in the surf before it was pushed out to deeper water by tugboats.

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Three teams of divers have been at the site of the grounding since Feb. 12, Ward said, surveying, photographing and re-attaching the live coral heads.

"It's been complicated by the wave action from the wind and the current," Ward said. "The Navy divers are assisting us with the gluing and removal of the chunks of coral out to deeper water."

But it will take another week or more for divers to survey the site and to assess the full extent of the scarring to the reef, she said.

In some instances, divers are re-attaching the coral with a quick-setting cement and hauling the larger pieces to deep water so they aren't tumbled by waves, causing further damage to the reef, Ward said.

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Miss Indonesia Feels Connection to the Sea, Compelled to Help Conserve

And we're cool with that.

In fact, we're cool with just about everything Miss Indonesia does.

With her celebrity status, Miss Indonesia 2005 Nadine Chandrawinata could become a messenger or ambassador for any cause she wants.

But the 24-year-old actress and model said she wanted to be an ambassador for coral reefs because she is a ocean lover.

“I have some kind of connection with the sea. If I fall in love or if I’m feeling blue, I will go to the sea. The sea also gives me inspiration and ideas. So I think I have to do something for the sea,” Nadine told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a national meeting on coral reefs in Jakarta on Wednesday evening.

Her concerns for sea conservation has seen the international environmental organization, the World Wildlife Fund, choose her as its ambassador for marine conservation. Wakatobi regency in Southeast Sulawesi province has also chosen Nadine, who is a certified diver, as its eco-tourism ambassador.

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Hat tip: Dive Photo Guide