Marine dept claims success in saving bleached coral

PUBLISHED: 24 Apr 2025 at 05: 53

Pictures of coral reefs at Koh Mak, Krabi province, taken in August 2024, left, and last month, right, show a recovery from the bleaching last year. Department of Marine and Coastal Resources says up to 60% of the bleached reefs have recovered in both the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. Department of Marine and Coastal Resources — Photos of Koh Mak, Krabi county coral reefs, taken in August of this year, are to the left and the right, which show a recovery from the washing from the previous year. According to the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand have recovered up to 60 % of the tanned reefs. Department of Marine and Coastal Resources

More than 60 % of the coral bleached since last year has been saved thanks to the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources ( DMCR ).

According to Pinsak Suraswadi, director-general of the DMCR, between 60 % and 80 % of coral in Thailand’s seas have been found to have suffered bleaching since April last year, of which 60 % has been saved and the remainder has died.

Rising water temperatures caused the marine to be extremely stressed, leading to the expulsion of zooxanthellae plants. Coral weakens and turns pale when this algae is lost, according to Mr. Pinsak.

However, 60 % to 70 % of coral has already been saved following a survey in the Andaman Sea, where 55 % of coral was discovered last year.

Meanwhile, coral bleaching in the Gulf of Thailand reached its highest level in May of last year, when only 40 % to 60 % of the coral had been bleached, he said.

Coral in deep waters was the most damaged, according to Mr. Pinsak, but neither location’s current situation has resulted in better-than-expected results. He claimed that the DMCR has regrown marine in seven provinces, including Trat, Rayong, Chon Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Surat Thani, Phangnga, and Phuket, totaling 24 ray of islands this time.

In addition, he claimed, about 60, 000 reproduced provinces were being nursed as part of the DMCR’s effort to protect and restore Thai coral islands.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Chalermchai Sri-on has taken steps to stop coral bleaching, including briefly closing some marine tourist attractions to allow for coral to recover, preventing tourists from consuming fish in the sea, removing trash, encouraging the use of environmentally friendly sunscreen, and partially relocating coral to help conserve them.