Just the day before IDCS Nathan Cook, Manager of Eco Koh Tao and his sister, Advanced Open Water Diver Jacqui Cook took a dive off the beach in Mae Haad to check out our new artificial reef, Junkyard Reef.
We had a great dive but the experience was marred by the swim back into shore. On the way in we came across a discarded fishing net with no less than 5 half-alive stingrays and numerous other marine life already dead or dying caught in the nylon net.
Without appropriate equipment and being low on air there was little we could do. But armed with many hands and scissors a group of dedicated divers from Eco Koh Tao and Crystal Dive headed back to the same site the following day to clear up the mess.
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Tina trying to free remove a now dead Red Breasted Wrasse. It will now provide valuable nutrition to surrounding Marine life. |
It was a laborious task and for a time it felt like we were getting nowhere but eventually we managed to make some inroads and finally, after about 70 minutes we managed to get the bulk of it up and out of harms way. Even though many animals died, left alone such a net, and it wasn’t a big one, would continue killing and maiming marine life for a long time to come. |
