Several areas in the Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park will be closed to tourists from June 30, after it was discovered that almost all the coral and sea anemone have bleached.
Yutthapong Dumsrisuk, chief of the national park, said that devastating bleaching has been reported in Loh Ba Kao Bay, Viking Cave and Pi Leh Bay, where it has affected almost 100% of the corals and sea anemone, with the situation deteriorating further.
As tourist activities may worsen the bleaching, he said that it is necessary to close the areas to tourists, in the hope that this may slow down the bleaching process.
He said, however, that other areas in the national park remain open to the public.
Ten marine parks and three popular diving spots in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf have been closed to the public since April.
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife Plant Conservation collected about 1.7 billion baht in entry fees to the country’s national parks last year, including about 500 million baht to enter Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi National Park.
