The discovery of the reef, made in the first week of January, was documented by Songpol Tippayawong, Head of the Thailand Marine and Coastal Conservation Unit (MCCU) of the WWF (formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund). The MCCU were surveying a reef nearby when they were tipped off by local fishermen.
“We never thought the reef would be so large,” said K. Songpol, who is a Phang Nga native. “I have never even seen a reef that is [even] one kilometer square in Thailand, and so far we have surveyed four square kilometers of this new reef. It is actually bigger; we have yet to survey the exact boundaries.”
It is reported to be completely different from the reefs at the Similans, Surin or Richelieu in that it is not sloping, and it is home to species never before seen in Thai waters as well as species that up until now have been seen only in the Similans, such as a rare type of sweet lips.
There is also a rock formation where more than twenty lobsters have chosen to set up home. It has been nicknamed “lobster condo.”
Although the MCCU has yet to complete its assessment of the reef, the team has so far recorded more than 30 genera of hard corals and 112 species of fish from 56 families, including the parrot fish Chlorurus rakaura, which has never been seen in Thai waters before.
For now, K. Songpol is keeping the location of the reef a secret in order to protect it. “I’m not telling anyone exactly where it is,” he said, adding that the reef must first be surveyed, the coral’s condition assessed and the boundaries of the reef established.
It is believed that the new discovery will have the capability to boost tourism in the area but only when there is a good management plan in place. The MCCU are still in the middle of completing a field survey and they are collecting scientific data in order to zone the area and put down some mooring buoys.
It is important that conservation of the reef is paramount and that everybody from the local community through to the tourism operators take care of this wonderful new discovery.
Sunrise Diving will keep the dive world informed of any more developments concerning the new coral reef and other diving and social stories.