Protection For Phuket Reefs But Not All

Protection For Phuket Reefs But Not All

Much Needed protection For Phuket Reefs But Does it Go Far Enough?

Two popular Phuket reefs have been afforded extra protection. Fishing of any kind was banned at Shark Point and Koh Doc Mai from the 28th April 2021. The ban will be in place for 5 years, perpetrators can be fined up to THB 100,000 or face up to a year in jail. The fishing community have been informed so we don’t expect to see fishing of any kind from here on in….

A further 19 dive sites in 6 provinces have also been given the same level of protection. Apparently the proposal has been bouncing around from committee to committee for decades. It’s taken Thailand’s current Minister of Environment and Natural Resources to get the plan pushed through. Minister Varawut Silpa-archa has been a champion for Thailand’s seas since his appointment. Responsible for rescuing numerous environmental proposals from the abysmal depths of the committee trenches.

In reality the responsibility will once again fall on the dive community. The limited resources of the local DMCR office probably won’t allow regular patrols (although a decent telescope from Cape Panwa would do the job) so it will be up to the dive operators to grass up report the rule breakers.

Every time we visit Koh Doc Mai there is somebody fishing, divers have even seen fisherman walking along the bottom at 20m. Using a rudimentary hose system to supply air, fisherman walk along the bottom with nets strung out between them. Shark Point was besieged by large fish traps after the covid lockdown in April 2020. Some dropped so close to the reef that corals were damaged.

Some Glaring Omissions

The extra protection for Phuket Reefs could easily extend to cover the nearby Anemone Reef and the King Cruiser Wreck. Multiple fishing nets have been removed from all of the dive sites after periods of no diving. They even managed to place a large fish trap on the deck of the King Cruiser Wreck.

fish trap on the king cruiser wreck

fish trap on the king cruiser wreck

The large trawler nets have probably drifted in from the open ocean, it’s very unlikely that trawlers would risk their valuable nets trying to get close to reefs. The more worrying trend is the amount of smaller nets that have been removed from dive sites. More than likely from small scale fisherman that are deliberately targeting the reefs and dive sites.

Racha Noi has the largest and healthiest staghorn coral beds of any dive location around Phuket. We lost most of our staghorn reefs in the 2010 coral bleaching event. There are signs of recovery on numerous dive sites but none more than Banana Rock at Racha Noi. Hundreds of damsels and juvenile fish use the staghorn as cover attracting predatory trumpet and lionfish.

healthy staghorn coral racha noi

healthy staghorn coral racha noi

At the south tip of Racha Noi is a manta ray cleaning station, the only diving site around Phuket that we regularly see the enigmatic ocean giants. Together with the now rare staghorn beds, Racha Noi deserves some level of protection. Fishing boats shelter in the bays during inclement weather, dropping trash and trashing corals. Again multiple fishing traps and nets have been removed over the last year.

People Got To Eat

The local fisherman have catching fish from the dive sites long before scuba was even invented so we can imagine that they’ll not be overly impressed by the ban on fishing activities. However the Thai government hasn’t ignored their needs. Thousands of concrete cubes have been dropped into the sea around Phuket. These artificial reefs attract fish and are mainly for the benefit of the local fisherman.

Sport fishing could benefit from uniform regulations. There are a few, mainly foreign operated companies that practice catch and release on their trips but the majority don’t. Everything that’s caught and edible will not go back in the ocean. There are few if any regulations regarding species, size or catch limits in Thailand. If you book a fishing trip, make sure they’re a catch and release outfit or at least impose some limits.

Divers Need To Be More Aware

The dive community in general do great work in removing nets, trash, reporting fish traps and coral damage and practising a no touch policy. Guests are asked not to touch anything and generally comply but some simply can’t, new divers either through poor instruction or lack of awareness do accidentally damage coral.

It’s hard in a service orientated industry to direct criticism at your customers but they can be politely reminded or steered in the direction of a Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty.

Underwater photographers, experienced or novice can be so focused on the image they’re trying to capture that they inadvertently damage the environment. Novice divers especially need to get their buoyancy right before starting photography. A rare few simply have no awareness and or ethics and don’t care if they cause damage to get their photo, no need to be polite with these selfish individuals.

A collective effort is required from fisherman, divers, government agencies, snorkelers and sailors to keep our Phuket reefs as healthy as possible for as long as possible. It can be done!

For all the latest Phuket diving news
Contact Us Now

By Justin Hartrey

I've been enjoying the incredible marine life in our oceans for over 25 years. 13 years ago I became a PADI professional in Phuket, hoping to introduce as many people as possible to the incredible beauty of the seas.

Having been fortunate enough to dive all over south east and especially Thailand, I enjoy sharing my diving experiences and passion on this blog.

Originally from Bristol in the UK, I swapped the frigid waters of the North Atlantic for the warm tropical seas around Thailand and can confidently say that I wouldn't go back

Posted in News & Updates on .

Popular Services

Rescue course PADi with Local Dive Thailand

PADI Rescue Diver Course in Phuket

The PADI Rescue diver course is the most challenging and rewarding of PADI certification courses available. The PADI Rescue diver course improves your skills, confidence as a diver and is designed for anyone who wants to learn how to identify, manage & prevent diver or scuba diving emergencies. This course is much more demanding than the PADI Open Water, or Advanced Open Water but our experienced PADI professionals will get you through it [...]

Find Out More
snorkeling and freediving in the crystal clear waters of phuket

Free Diving And Snorkelling In Phuket

The warm, clear waters around Phuket make for excellent free diving and snorkelling tours. Local Dive Thailand won't treat you as an add on. You'll get the same care and attention as the divers. Small groups are the norm, you won't be chucked in on one of the packed speedboat snorkelling sites. Our high quality guides will give you a briefing on safety and on all the wonderful marine life that you can expect to see. Snorkelers and [...]

Find Out More

Daily Schedules

M/V Kepsub Schedule

Jobs @ Local Dive Thailand

Local Dive Thailand is one of Phuket's fatest growing & most vibrant scuba diving operations, we are always looking for quality staff to join us, so feel free to have a look at our jobs listing page.

Job Listings

Contact LDT

Local Guides, Local Knowledge, Local Experiences

Don't trust your diving to amateurs or freshly minted dive guides, dive with local experienced experts from Local Dive Thailand. Our Scuba Diving Phuket Tours will take you to see the rarest of the rare critters, you will be amazed by the macro life our guides can find, in the secret places only they know. To put it in perspective, if you were going to climb Mount Everest you would certainly hire a local sherpa to lead the way & keep you safe. Diving is similar because there is absolutely no substitute for local experience & local knowledge, Local Dive Thailand's guides are Phuket's Sherpa's of the Andaman Sea!

Learn More About Us

Scuba Diving Phuket, Phi Phi & Thailand

When talking about Scuba Diving in Phuket, you should believe the hype, many seasons we have had Whale Sharks grace us on our regular and easy to reach dive sites and on a good day you can add Sea Horses, Sea Moths, Snake Eels, Frog Fish & Octopus to what you can see on any given dive and so much more. If we are heading to Phi Phi Island for the day, you can possibly see Hawksbill Sea Turtles and Black Tip Reef Sharks, also don't forget the King Cruiser, 84 meters of beautiful wreck and the most amazing reef nursery for fish and nudibranch. Local Dive Thailand day trip tours to these locations are not to be missed when you are scuba diving Phuket, get in touch with us and book an 'awesome' day of diving.

Book Your Day Trip

Related News From Local Dive Thailand

See why we are Thailand's leading scuba diving Phuket tour provider, stay up to date & watch out for news & special liveaboard offers!

similan and surin islands new rules will improve your experience News & Updates

Need To Know: Similan And Surin Islands New Rules

Similan and Surin Islands new rules bombshell dropped a few days before the annual reopening. The number of daily visitors has been reduced to 3,850 and divers to just 525. Possibly in reaction to somewhat unflattering images of thousands of tourists packed onto small Similan Island beaches. To ensure that no more divers than the allocated 525 per day enter Similan & Surin Island National Parks. Park tickets must be paid for in advance [...]

Read Full Story
simple tips to reduce scuba diving air consumption Scuba Diving For Beginners

Improving My Scuba Diving Air Consumption

Let's first start by saying that it's not a competition. Having good scuba air consumption doesn't necessarily make you a better diver. If you're ending the dive 20 or 30 bar behind your buddy but still reaching your planned bottom time then it's nothing to worry about and could simply be physiological differences that are extremely difficult to overcome. Having said that we do have numerous instructors around Phuket that can only be describe [...]

Read Full Story
New Website For Local Dive Thailand News & Updates

Local Dive Thailand’s New Web Threads

These days if you are not mobile friendly then you are out of the game, simple as that, we were seeing almost half of our web traffic come from small screens, what can only be described as mobile or small tablet resolutions, that meant we needed to change from the old slow non responsive website we had before, to something new and fast that anyone could load anywhere, on their phones, tablets or laptops! Welcome to the new and shiny Loc [...]

Read Full Story

Local Dive Thailand Office In Phuket


Find Us On Google Maps