Chumphon gearing up for Sea World Festival

Coral is pictured off the coast of Chumphon in the Gulf of Thailand in 2016. (TAT photo)

CHUMPHON: Divers have collected more than 100 kilogrammes of undersea garbage from various coral reefs in the Chumphon Islands National Park ahead of the Chumphon Sea World Festival on March 16-20, .

Rakpong Boonyoi, chief of the Chumphon Islands National Park, said the undersea garbage collection was carried out on March 9-10 by volunteer divers with support from the Chumphon-Ranong office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

More than 100 kilogrammes of garbage were extracted from coral reefs around Ko Lak Raet, Ko Lawa and Ko Langka Jiew islands and buried properly, he said.

Mr Rakpong said undersea garbage, especially the remnants of old fishing nets, is hazardous to marine life.

Another undersea garbage sweep will be carried out on March 17, when divers will also release molluscs and sea turtles near Ko Ngam Noi and Ko Ngam Yai islands as part of the activities in the annual Chumphon Sea World Festival, he added.

Dive, Enrich, Preserve.⠀
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Part 2 of a video we filmed at #Chumphon #Pinnacle showing the damage caused by #illegal #fishing. This part shows the effort taken in removing the #net. Using scissors to cut the net reducing the damage to the coral reef. https://t.co/ABNmDxX8SU pic.twitter.com/qpHe2uTasM

— Eco Koh Tao (@ecokohtao) November 17, 2017