Your WoWasis diving team has found Thailand’s Andaman Sea to be a prime scuba area, but one that has seen so much activity in the past few years that corals are being damaged. Coral bleaching and impact destruction are continuing problems, so Thailand’s National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department closed 18 dive sites in January 2012. 

In November of 2012, according to a recent article in the Bangkok Post, 11 were reopened, but seven remain off-limits to most divers. They are Koh Hin Ngam, Hat Sai Khao, eastern Koh Dong, southern Koh Dong, , and Koh Ta Kieng at Tarutao Marine National Park in Satun province; Koh Chuek at Hat Chao Mai National Park in Trang; and Hin Klang at Nopparat Para-Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park in Krabi province. 

In several sites, rope barriers are installed, dive numbers are limited, and dive operators requested to follow the regulations. In areas such as Koh Hin Ngam, diving will only be allowed during high tide, to prevent divers from stepping on coral. Thai officials anticipate that coral in these areas will be fully recovered in approximately 4 years.