In celebration of Earth Day 2010, Save Koh Tao and the local community of videographers organized the first annual Koh Tao film Festival at Club H2O. The event was a huge hit, 11 excellent movies were submitted from professionals and amatuers that portray the Biodiversity of Koh Tao and the environmental and social efforts of our community.

The next film Festival will be on Sept 23rd, in celebration of the end of the summer season and the sinking of the Trident Wreck as a new dive site on Koh Tao. 

Preserve Paradise: By Gina Stanton and Zac Van Der Merwe of Liquid Media Productions for the Save Koh Tao Underwater Festival 2010 (3 Parts)

Save Koh Tao: Earth Day 2010: Bogdan Stadniciuc of Buddhaview"

‘Wreck 2010’

A specially designed artificial reef and diver specialty course training area.

Download the full project proposal here

 Project Goals

• Construct reef structures in new areas to alleviate diver impact on natural reefs by providing alternative dive sites.
• Increase diver proficiency by providing a specialty training option for wreck adventure dives and wreck specialty courses currently of limited availability.
• Reduce negative impacts on Koh Tao’s reefs and improve habitat conditions for corals and fish in areas that have been affected by human activities.
• Study the applicability artificial reef technologies and materials as a means to overcoming global anthropogenic effects on coral reefs.
• Maintain biodiversity at levels which allow for rapid succession after a disturbance by providing a nursery area for coral, fish, and other marine organisms.
• Attempt to restore ecosystem balances that have been altered due to over-consumption of marine resources.

Construction Methods

This project will have two distinct construction elements

• Firstly the large portions of the ‘wreck’ will be designed, ordered and pre-fabricated on the main land.
• Secondly, individual groups/schools will be asked to design, develop and build structures to add character to the wreck. Eg Construct the bridge, mess hall, sleeping quarters, bathrooms, crows nest, whatever?  (Teams to nominate something at upcoming meetings)

The structures will be designed with a specific considerations in mind using the following categories

• Development of underwater skills for adventure dives
• Wreck diving objectives.
• Longevity
• Coral nursery/substrate
• Fish aggregation/nursery
• Art (i.e. structures that are attractive or fun on their own)

Other Method Considerations

• Structures should be diverse in materials/methods to encourage a high diversity of organisms to move in
• Structures should provide holes and crevices to act as fish habitats
• Areas specified for coral growth should be made with materials that encourage natural recruitment of coral larvae (natural recruitment is encouraged over coral transplanting)
• The site should be attractive and well planned (i.e. not a rubbish dump)
• The site should consist of more than one structure, i.e. multiple structures of the same size/construction methods, or 1 large main structure with smaller satellite structures around it.) to maximize the site area and spread out diving groups.

Material Considerations

• Materials used must be stable and not degrade or release toxins into the environment
• Materials should be chosen which provide high amounts surface area/texture, caves, holes, etc.
• Materials should be long lasting and should integrate into the natural environment
• Materials should apply with proper safety regulations
• Recycling is encouraged as long as aesthetics and safety considerations are followed

• Concrete/Ferrocement
• Steel and other metals (limit exposed areas)
• PVC/other piping
• Rope
• Glass
• Ceramic tiles
• Pottery/porcelain
• Rock
• Epoxy/resins
• Limestone
• Fiber Glass

Turn that Waste into Money

EM (Effective Micro-Organisms) is a unique way to turn rubbish into a valuable resource right at home. The idea is simple, we put lots of water, fertilizers, and resources into growing fruits and vegetables just to throw most of it away. EM is a way to put those nutrients and organic matter back into plants and soils, instead of bringing them up to the mountain to be burned. Not only are these nutrients recycled, but through the EM fermenting process special types of bacteria are formed which can detoxify soils and waste water, allow for faster and healthier plant growth, prevent insect eggs from developing, and break down dead organic matter that would normally be burned (palm leaves, coconuts, grass cuttings, rice, etc).

Uses for EM:

• Recycle waste food products, instead of feeding them to the fish or burning them
• Fertilizing flowers, trees, fruits, vegetables, and other plants
• Improving soil conditions for plant growth (EM detoxifies soils, kills certain ‘bad’ types of bacteria, and provides carbon for plant growth)
• Creating soils in sandy areas
• Preventing infestation of insects in organic crops (less insects means faster plant growth and bigger/healthier fruits or flowers)
• Treating waste water and septic systems (introduces ‘good’ bacteria and breaks down organic solids)
• Breaking down compost piles and waste plant material
• As a bonus, EM adds antioxidants to the soils, which go into the fruits or vegetables, then into your body when you eat the fruit

• (1 or more) containers with a lid to make the EM inside (bucket, barrel, 20 liter soap jug, etc)
• 8 liters of fresh water
• 250 ml of EM Molasses (available in 5 liter jugs at Pen’s Warehouse near the Temple)
• Waste Fruits and vegetables (skin included)

1. Mix the water and molasses
2. Add the mixture to the drum
3. Throw in your fruits and vegetables as they are available
4. The fruits should be mostly below the water line. If you need to, you can mix more water and molasses and add it again
5. After the container is full, put a lid on it and let it sit for 4 weeks (this is why it is nice to have multiple drums)
6. Next, pour out the water and put into bottles, save the solid matter for the next batch or mix into your soil as compost

Once you have decided to start making EM at your business/dive school than print this handy sign to let everybody know

In order to reduce incidences of structural damage to the coral reefs around Koh Tao, The Save Koh Tao Group and the Thai Navy will be undertaking an island zoning and mooring buoy project beginning in March of 2009. For the first stage of this project, 10 mooring buoys will be installed or repaired in the areas around the island deemed to be most at risk of anchor damage from dive boats. In the second stage, we will establish small boats tie offs, boat lanes, and ‘no boat’ areas as part of the island zoning project. It is hoped that by working with the local community for the installation, maintenance, and repair of these buoys that we can increase the amount of education and awareness about human impacts on coral reefs and reduce those impacts for Koh Tao. Furthermore, by working with the people using the buoys we can ensure that they will remain well maintained into the future to ensure project sustainability.

See the full project proposal here

Ecological Monitoring Program (EMP) is a coral reef research program started by the CPAD foundation on Koh Tao and carried forth by the Save Koh Tao and the individual dive shops. Through this program, Save Koh Tao collects information on the biodiversity and abundance of the fish, invertebrate, and coral species on Koh Tao.

By coupling this information with water quality and other data we hope to construct accurate pictures of the negative and positive trends in reef health around the island. Baseline data has been gathered since 2006, but it takes time for trends to appear outside of seasonal changes. As of June 2008, Scuba Schools International (SSI) has endorsed the course and is working with Save Koh Tao to develop a comprehensive program that can be taught all over the Gulf of Thailand; Funding future projects, raising awareness and increasing the amount of data available on our area. It is now possible to become certified by SSI as either a student or an instructor in conducting the Koh Tao EMP. Courses are being taught at participating dive schools on the island, for more info contact us or SSI Thailand Directly.

The data collected through this program is used by the organization to focus protection and restoration efforts and published for presentation to local and regional government bodies for future project planning. We believe in the free sharing of information, and if you would like copies of the raw data from reef checks and water testing on Koh Tao Please contact us.

The Koh Tao Giant Clam Nursery and Restoration project was started in February of 2009 in order to attempt to increase the abundance and genetic diversity of Giant clams in the island’s reefs. This long term project is being managed by the Save Koh Tao Group under the guidance and supervision of the Prechuap Khiri Khan Coastal Fisheries Research and Development Center.

Giant clams are one of the most ecologically important organisms in a coral reef, known as a keystone species. Like hard corals, Giant clams use symbiotic zooanthallae algae to produce a shell that adds to the reef structure. In addition to this, they clean nutrients from the water that could otherwise go towards the growth of macroalgae, smothering and killing corals. A single Giant clam can filter 100s of liters of water in a single day, and only where there are giant clams do we see high coral abundance and biodiversity around our island.

Unfortunately, these slow growing clams are being harvested for food and decoration, a practice which is unsustainable and benefits only a few individuals. To increase awareness and help to repopulate Koh Tao’s reefs Save Koh Tao will be developing a long term nursery and release program in addition to releases conducted yearly by dive schools and the Thai Navy.We have been given a 100,00 baht budget from the local government to begin this project in March of 2009. You can view the Project Proposal by clicking here, and please check back soon for updates or contact us about getting involved with this exciting project.

Update

The giant clams are here!

 On March 20th of 2009 the Thailand Department of Fisheries Under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, based out of Prechuap Khiri Khan, came to Koh Tao with 1,000 juvenile clams to donate to the Save Koh Tao group. These 1,000 clams have been breed and raised for about 1 year in captivity from Giant clams at the Prechuap marine center. These clams have been placed into 10 large cages in the sea where they will be allowed to grow up for about 1 year before being transplanted to natural reef areas around the island.

The goals of this project are to increase the abundance of giant clams around our island, educate locals and tourists about threats to clam health, and provide a research site to add to existing knowledge about clams.

 Journal of Project to date:

March 19th 2009: Members from the Prechuap Khiri Khan Coastal Fisheries Research and Development Center placed down ten cages in Ao Leuk Bay, Koh Tao. The cages are arranged in a straight line separated by a 0.5 meter gap, running in a more or less north-south orientation. The cages have been placed onto a sand substrate at a depth of about 6 meters, approximately 150 meters from the island coast. The bottoms of cages were filled with large and small pieces of coral rubble that were collected on land.

March 20rd 2009: Members from the Prechuap Khiri Khan Coastal Fisheries Research and Development Center placed down 1,000 juvenile Giant Clams (Tridacna maxima) into ten cages that were placed down the day before. The Giant clams used have been raised from clams held in captivity in Prechuap Kiri Khan. The clams were spaced apart and stood upright on the pieces of rubble to give them a substrate to grow on. About 950 of the clams were very small juveniles (shell height estimated to be less than about 6 cm) and 50 of the clams were a bit larger (shell height about 10 cm). Lids were put onto the cages and secured with 3-4 cable ties.

March 29th 2009: Members of Save Koh Tao went to check-up on the clams and secure the lids after receiving reports of divers trying to lift the cage lids. Divers placed about 6 cable ties onto cage. Divers also observed that there were about 3-7 dead clams in each of the cages containing the smaller juveniles.

April 12th 2009: Members of Save Koh Tao went to check-up on the clams and found that many of the cages were filled with sand. The sand had smothered of buried many of the smaller giant clams in about 8 of the cages. This was most likely due to chan

ging currents and wind directions causing mass movement of sand out from the beach area. Divers collected large pieces of dead coral rubble/rocks and placed them under the cages to suspend them up off of the sand. This temporally cleared all of the sand out of the cages, but many of the clams had already died. Yet, even in the 2 cages that did not get inundated with sand there was a considerable amount of mortality, probably due to predation. On all dives parrot fish, wrasse, groupers, and damsel fishes have been observed swimming in and out of the cages. Divers counted the clams and found there to about 457 living clams in the cages, with about 45.3 clams per cage, indicating a 54.3% mortality rate for the small juveniles in the first 3.5 weeks of the project. In the cage with the larger clams there was much higher success rate with only 1 fatality. A high mortality rate is expected in projects such as this, and one of the main goals of this project is to refine and devlop techniques to improve the success of future projects.

April 15th 2009: Divers returned to check on the cages, had to re-suspend 2 cages up out of the sand again using coral rubble.

April 21st 2009: Divers returned to check on the cages, had to re-suspend 5 cages up out of the sand again using coral rubble.

April 26th 2009: Divers checked on the Giant Clams, no maintenance completed, but it was observed that about 5-10 clams per cage had been dislodged/tipped over and were no longer in an ideal growing situation. Divers counted the clams and found there to be a total of 453 living clams, indicating that the mortality rate had been decreased to only 0.8% after 2 weeks by lifting the clams up off of the sand.

April 28th 2009: Divers opened the cages and repositioned any of the smaller juvenile clams that had become dislodged or turned over. After completion the cages were again secured with cable ties.

Introduction

Koh Tao, or 'Turtle Island' has historically been a popular feeding and nesting area for sea turtles, as evidenced by the island's name and the local reverence for these ancient sea creatures. But years of habitat destruction and commercial fishing in the Gulf of Thailand is leading to an ecological collapse of the island's visiting turtle populations. With many scientists predicting that the turtles we see today will be the last generation of turtles in the Gulf, the end of an animal that as been around since the age of the dinosaurs. 

There are currently 9 species of sea turtles on the planet, all of them endangered or threatened. Today turtles are a rare site in the Gulf of Thailand, especially turtle laying eggs. For about the last 15 years the local community and the Thai Navy have been releasing baby turtles from the island in hopes they come back. Additionally, for the last 2 years the Save Koh Tao Group has been releasing more turtles, and also has started a sea turtle nursery/head-starting program. In March of this year, on record for the first time in 20 years, a turtle came and laid about 120 eggs in Tanote Bay. This has been followed by 2 turtles laying eggs on the beach near Laem Tien in late June. These events are bringing hope to our community and increasing the demand for adequate protection of our remaining turtles species.

Click to jump to another section of this page:

• Background on Sea Turtles

• threats to sea turtles

• Save Koh Tao Sea Turtle Release Efforts

• Save Koh Tao Sea Turtle Head-starting Program

• Useful References

 Also, Click here to See Kwan's article about the turtle eggs in Tanote

Background on Sea Turtles

Sea Turtles are long-lived marine organisms that have very complex life cycles. Some of their life traits include; high mortality rate for eggs and juveniles, a delayed sexual maturity, repeated reproduction (iteroparity), and high adult survivorship rates (Frazer 1992, Congdon 1993). Turtle species specific to Thailand include the Leather Back (Dermochelys coriacea), Green (Chelonia mydas), Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricate), and Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) turtle species (Eckert 1999, Settle 1995). The Loggerhead previously been found in Thailand, but is thought to be extirpated.  Like all reptiles, turtles lay eggs. Generally this is done on sandy beaches, but it is important to realize that not all species desire the same beach and approach types. Species such as the Leatherback will prefer to nest on beaches that have steep slopes and unobstructed approaches, while species such as the Hawksbill prefer narrow island beaches with coral reefs obstructing the approach (Eckert 1999). This fact is important when selecting the release site for hatchlings as they will generally return to this site as adults to nest.

    Different turtle species will have varying amounts of eggs per nest, or clutch. The Hawksbill may only have about 70-90 eggs per clutch, while the Green Turtle may have as many as 130 eggs per clutch. Eggs incubate on beach areas until conditions are right and they hatch. Hatchling sex is dependent upon incubation temperature, at temperatures cooler than 29.2°C the clutch will be 100% male, and above 30.4°C the clutch will contain 100% females. Generally, in natural conditions the periphery of the clutch will be male and the eggs in the center will be female, this is due to higher temperatures in the center from metabolic heating (Chan 1995). These hatchlings (age <1year) move into the sea where they swim a short distance and then are taken away by ocean currents, for this reason, hatchlings are considered to be planktonic organisms (Carr 1987). Survival rates for the hatchlings are very low for all turtles, for the Green Turtle species only about 2.5 per every thousand will reach adulthood (Frazer 1992). After entering the sea, the hatchlings float into the open ocean, or pelagic zone, where they continue to drift until occurring an ocean front. Ocean fronts are areas of convergence or divergence between water masses and are generally areas of high nutrient concentration due to upwelling forces. Also contained in these ocean fronts are beds of sea grass, algae, and floating debris, which provide refuge and feeding sites for the young turtles throughout this life stage. Here the hatchlings will feed mainly on pelagic tunicates, snails, and barnacles attached to floating debris, but will eat almost anything that is small and within reach (Carr 1987).

The turtles then move into the juvenile stage (age 1-20 years) where they will continue to live both in pelagic and coastal areas, feeding both in coral reefs on sponges and invertebrates and also in pelagic zones. Turtles then reach the adult stage (age > about 20 years) in which they reach sexual maturity and begin to reproduce. Some turtles are able to lay eggs every year, while others may lay eggs only once every other year (Heppell 1998). Due to the delayed sexually maturity of turtles, they have a high risk of death before reproduction large time spans between generations (Congdon 1993). Because of this fact, turtles are slow to adapt to changing environmental conditions, and are very susceptible to chronic disturbances.

Threats to sea turtles

Almost all of the earth’s turtle species are currently experiencing increased stresses and decreased adult populations due to the anthropogenic factors. Scientific research of turtles is still far from comprehensive, but information gained in the last few decades has greatly increased knowledge about environmental problems and how they effect sea turtle populations. In Asia, the main threat to turtles is the exploitation for markets. Here, turtles are sold for meat, shells, oil, skins, eggs, and medicines. The overexploitation of Turtles for Asian food markets is the largest factor contributing to decreased number throughout the Asian continent (Engstrom 2002, Eckert 1999).  Another large problem faced by turtles is the accidental capture and drowning of turtles from fishing operations. Tens of thousands of turtles die every year in active and abandoned nets, and fixed lines (Eckert 1999, Congdon 1993, Kemf 2000). In the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, over 10,000 to 12,000 turtles die every year from shrimp trawl nets (Frazer 1992). Even if the numbers of accidental capture could be decreased, many scientists such as Congdon believe that the “sustainable harvest of long-lived organisms is an oxymoron” (1993).

Coastal development is occurring at very high rates around the world, especially on Koh Tao, and decreases the habitat available for the nesting turtles. Increases in tourism and recreational activities generally fuel development in coastal areas, and create disturbances that negatively affect the turtles (Congdon 1993, Eckert 1999, Kemf 2000). In addition to the loss of habi

tat and safety, both adult turtles and hatchlings can be disoriented by artificial light and be unable to locate the sea (Frazer 1992). Pollution concentration levels tend to be high around developed coastal areas or in areas where petroleum operations take place.
Turtles are faced with a wide range of environmental hazards and pollutants. Among the highest dangers to the turtles are oil spills, high heavy metal concentrations, chemical wastes, plastic, and other debris (Eckert 1999, Kemf 2000). These pollutants can leak into coastal areas and be concentrated around bays or in ocean fronts. The concentration of pollution in fronts greatly inhibits hatchlings ability to reach the juvenile stage as the young carnivores tend to eat anything small and available (Carr 1987). In a study around San Miguel, Mexico, turtle autopsies revealed that the dead turtles had ingested “polyethylene sheet plastic, bits of solid plastic, pieces of paper, and nylon line; all were also found to have semi-solid clots of petroleum oil” inside their digestive system (Carr 1987).

Save Koh Tao Sea Turtle Release Efforts

For the last two years the Save Koh Tao Group has been working together with the Thai Navy to release sea turtles from the island that have been breed in captivity. The idea behind this project is that by increasing the numbers of turtles in the sea we can attempt to help them adapt to changing conditions and sustain populations until policy involving fishing and habitat destruction can be changed. The turtles we receive from the Thai Navy range in age from a few months to a few years, and at last year's Save Koh Tao Festival we were able to release 49 turtles into the sea.

Save Koh Tao Sea Turtle Head-starting Program

“Head-start” programs are those that protect and care for the turtles for about 9 months to a year after hatching. After the turtles have reached a size when they are no longer vulnerable to predation by birds and aquatic organisms they are released. This program is based on the fact that very few, on the order of 1 in a 1,000, baby sea turtles make it to reproductive age in the Gulf of Thailand. Most of these turtles are eaten by predators in the first few months, then snarled up by nets or choked by liter and pollution while still juveniles.

Many projects around the world are in place to keep baby sea turtles in captivity until they become large enough to escape prey, and often this is done in an artificial enclosure such as a plastic tub or concrete pool, where the turtles are fed dead fish and vegetables at regular intervals. Initially we began our project in the same way, but what we found was that the turtles appeared unhealthy and overly aggressive. We believe that in the pools there is a scarcity of resources, and the turtles natural instinct is to compete for those limited resources and attack the smaller individuals.  After studying their behavior and looking at their damaged fins we decided that this was not a proper way to be stewards of these animals. We also expected that in close proximity a virus or disease could attack and kill our entire stock.

So in 2008 we decided to make a natural enclosure and move the baby turtles out of the tubs. The enclosure was constructed between rocks in a secluded bay, we built a bamboo wall to contain the turtles, but still allow water to flow in and out of the enclosure naturally. We removed all predators such as groupers and crabs from the enclosed area, and then put the turtles inside. Immediately they appeared happier and healthier. In the tubs they spent there time floating around and would bite any other turtles they bumped into, but in the natural cage they would rest on the rocks, and even huddle together without attacking one another. They could also eat at will by consuming the algae and barnacles growing on the rocks, after observing the turtles in the natural enclosure we feel that this is the only responsible way to keep baby sea turtles when conducting headstarting programs, but other groups should be aware of a few complications.

 The first problem we encountered was mortality due to octopus predation. This is very difficult if not impossible to prevent while in the natural enclosure. The groupers, crabs, birds, and other larger predators can be kept out easily, but an octopus can fit through any hole or crevice as big as their beak. One way to reduce mortality from octopuses is to take the turtles out of the enclosure and put them into pools at night, but this can be stressful and introduce problems or the possibility of disease transmission during handling. Still we feel this is a good alternative to keeping them in the artificial pools all the time.
Our project in 2008 ended prematurely after only 2 months when a storm broke down the bamboo wall, releasing the 18 baby turtles.  This release was of course earlier than planned, but the turtles were released into the sea, and hopefully have an increased chance of survival than if they had been released immediately after hatching. No shells were found by divers in the area, and we found no evidence that any turtles died during the storm that broke down the wall.

For 2009 we decided to build an artificial enclosure that would mimic natural conditions to prevent the problem we had in 2009. We built a pool using stones and concrete and put a bamboo roof over the top to reduce the heat build up in the pool. The pool was built a few meters from the sea, so that fresh sea water could be circulated constantly, flushing out the pool and allowing a natural exchange of algae and plankton. We also had plans to add sand and coral rubble as substrate, and introduce sea cucumbers and reef fish to clean waste organic matter and algae from the enclosure and the turtles shells. Unfortunately, before we could move the turtles into the new enclosure they were stolen. We still do not know the fate of the turtles, whether they were stolen by locals wishing to eat them, or a tourist who spotted the turtles and released them thinking that somebody was holding them to be eaten. We hope is was the later, but due to the problems of the last few years we will be reevaluating the program and the importance of head-starting programs over the next few months while focusing primarily on education and raising awareness.

References

Carr, A. 1987.  New Perspectives on the Pelagic Stage of Sea Turtle Development Conservation
 Biology 1:103-121.

Chan, E.H. and H.C. Liew. 1995. Incubation Temperatures and Sex-ratios in the Malaysian
 Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys Coriacea). Biological Conservation 74:169-174.

Congdon, J.D., A.E. Dunham and R. C. Van Loben Sels. 1993. Delayed Sexual Maturity and
Demographics of Blanding's Turtles (Emydoidea blandingii): Implications for
Conservation and Management of Long-Lived Organisms. Conservation Biology
7:826-833

Eckert, K. L., K. A. Bjorndal, F. A. Abreu-Grobois and M. Donnelly (Editors). 1999. Research
 and Management Techniques for the Conservation of Sea Turtles. IUCN/SSC Marine
Turtle Specialist Group Publication.

Engstrom T. N., H.B. Shaffera and W.P. McCord. 2002. Phylogenetic Diversity of Endangered and
 Critically Endangered Southeast Asian Softshell Turtles (Trionychidae: Chitra).
 Biological Conservation 104:173-179.

Frazer, N. B. 1992. Sea Turtle Conservation and Halfway Technology. Conservation Biology
6:179-184.

Heppell, S. S. 1998. Application of Life-History Theory and Population Model Analysis to Turtle
Conservation. Copeia 2:367-375.

James, M.C., A.C. Ottensmeyer and R.A. Myers. 2005. Identification of High-use Habitat and
Threats to Leatherback Sea Turtles in Northern Waters: New Directions for
Conservation. Ecology Letters 8:195–201.

Kemf E., B. Groombridge, A. Abreu and A. Wilson. 2000. Marine Turtles in the
 Wild. World Wide Fund for Nature.

Settle, S. 1995. Status of Nesting Populations of Sea Turtles in Thailand and Their Conservation. Marine Turtle Newsletter 68:8-13.
Yasuda T. and N. Arai. 2005. Fine Scale Tracking of Marine Turtles Using GPS-Argos PTTs.
 Zoological Science 22:547-553.





 

**Note, there will be no group clean-ups during the Monsoon season (October-December) The next clean-up will be on the 31st of January 2009**

Each month Save Koh Tao and local dive schools team up to help protect and beautify our beaches and reefs through a land and underwater clean-up. You can get involved with these clean-ups by coming to the Marine Branch meetings on the 5th of each month or by joining up with a school already involved. The clean-ups are held on the last day of each month.

Koh Tao Clean-ups 2008 

In 2008, the Marine Branch of Save Koh Tao was successful in organizing 9 land and underwater clean-ups with volunteers from dive schools around the island. The goal of the monthly clean-ups is to protect our reefs from structural damage and improve the appearance of our beaches and dive sites. When tourists and locals were asked in a survey what they thought to be the biggest environmental problem on Koh Tao, the majority (29%) said that rubbish/no recycling was the biggest problem.

Each month we host a clean-up in a different location around the island to increase the effectiveness of our efforts and bring awareness to all of the island villages. About 8-12 dive schools participated in each month’s clean-up, sometimes with more than 150 divers in the water. At the end of each day the rubbish was sorted and weighed in order to gain information about the source and type of rubbish found. By number of items, plastic products are the most abundant (29%), and when compiled by weight ropes and nets make up the majority of the rubbish (50% *weight when wet.) Items such as glass bottles and tires that are not a large threat to the reef are usually left in place to prevent further harm to the reef during removal.

The source of the large items, metals, and electrical appliances seems to be from the fishing and diving boats docked around the island’s bays, as most items were found under the boats. Plastics, foam, and nets could be both locally produced and drifted in from the surrounding areas as these items flow with the currents. In order to combat the problem of rubbish litter, it is important to educate the boat captains and staff about the negative effects of reef damage on their livelihoods. The use of plastics and foam on the island, which seem to be the most ecologically damaging and unattractive, should be decreased in order to reduce the amount being thrown into the island streams and waterways.

In order to be a dive school affiliated with the Save Koh Tao Group, an environmental briefing and recycling program must be instituted by the school to eliminate the chance of rubbish being thrown in the sea. By working with local businesses through our “Reduce Rubbish...No Plastic and Foam” campaign we hope to eliminate the sources of litter. Do your part by picking up rubbish you find and refusing plastic bags and foam with your purchases, instead bring your own bag or reusable containers. If we all do our part we can beautify and protect the island we love and depend on.

Schools involved in 2008 Underwater Clean-ups