Pling Island and the coral reefs around Sirinart National Park in Phuket will be temporarily closed due to extensive coral bleaching caused by rising seawater temperatures.
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation announced that the closure starts today.
Watchara Songsee-on, chief of Sirinart National Park, said that the closure of the area around Pling Island will reduce human marine activity, which can speed up coral bleaching. Coral bleaching has also been reported in several other areas in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf.
According to a team of Thai PBS reporters, who took part in a dive on May 5 in Khai Bay and off Jarn Island, in Sattahip district of Chon Buri, a well-known diving spot, corals at a depth of between 6 and 8 metres were found to be bleached.
Associate Professor Thorn Thamrongnawasawat, a marine expert at Kasetsart University, has previously said that the warming of sea water, exceeding 31 degree Celcius for 3-4 consecutive weeks, is the main cause of coral bleaching and eventual death. Loss of symbiotic algae, photosynthetic pigments and other stressors, such as changes in water temperature, lead to coral bleaching.
