Diving with the DMCR

Matthew Metcalf

19/02/2018

Diving with the DMCR

At a meeting with the Koh Tao dive schools the Department of Marine & Coastal Resources (DMCR) said they plan to double the number of concrete blocks they use to create artificial reefs around and to take the pressure off the existing reefs. They showed the areas where they would like to put the new reefs and asked for feedback from the diving schools in Koh Tao. I volunteered to dive with them the next day to survey the areas suggested at the meeting to look at the seabed to check it was suitable for the concrete blocks.

Let’s go diving with the DMCR

An 8 am meeting at the pier and onto the DMCR speedboat with members of the DMCR and local army. With some fried chicken and rice to keep us going during the day.

First Dive at Buddha Point

Firstly, we headed off to the first dive site, Buddha Point by Chalok to survey. I have never been there before and it is good to go someplace new and see what it has. We moored up on the buoy and dived down and headed north into a square pattern first turning west. I saw only my second lionfish on Koh Tao, there were two sea pens. It’s only the second place I’ve seen them here, and soft corals in the sand. The average depth was 12m.

Diving at Japanese Gardens

Secondly, the next place was north of Japanese Gardens, mooring up just outside the bay. We dropped in and headed north towards Red Rock at an average depth of 15m. Turned around and came back.

Diving at Hin Wong

After that, we went around the corner to Hin Wong to check on an existing artificial reef. A short swim north from the south side of the bay, at a depth of 15m, was the large area with the concrete blocks. Arranged in a geometric pattern two blocks high, the blocks are 1.5m square. It is now a nursery to lots of fish and a large Star puffer was the highlight, with young marine life attaching themselves to the concrete blocks.

Previously Coral Gardening planted smaller different types of concrete structures to create an artificial reef in Hin Wong Bay. But, at a shallower depth and closer to the reef, and less exposed to the underwater elements. It will be interesting to see how these two reefs attract marine life.

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