The sighting on Tuesday of a school of about a dozen of black tip reef sharks swimming near the Maya beach has caused excitements among officials of the Hat Nopparatthara-Phi-Phi Islands National Park in the southern province of Krabi.
One of the officials who was on the beach at the time used a smart phone to take a 33-second video of the sharks swimming in shallow water close to the beach apparently to forage for small aquatic creatures.
The presence of the harmless reef sharks was seen as a good sign that the ecological condition of the Maya bay has steadily improved to the extent that the sharks feel safe to return to the bay and also there is food available after the Maya bay has been closed since June 1.
After the expiry of the 4-month closure period on September 30, the national park decided to make the bay off-limits to outsiders for an indefinite period to allow nature to heal itself.
Over-tourism has caused extensive damage to coral reefs in the bay area from careless anchoring and humans.
