Tourism News

Tourism News Phuketwan Tourism News
facebook recommendations

NEWS ALERTS

Sign up now for our News Alert emails and the latest breaking news plus new features.

Click to subscribe

Existing subscribers can unsubscribe here

RSS FEEDS

Dr Somchai treads through the algae bloom at Nam Bor Bay

Phuket's Box Jellyfish: Out There Somewhere

Friday, February 20, 2009
Jellyfish Hunt Photo Album Above

WE ARE in the sea at Nam Bor Bay, a short drive from Phuket City, looking for box jellyfish. Today, just like last week, there are none to be found in the fishtraps along the pretty stretch of coast.

This is good news. No box jellyfish near Phuket!

But the persistent question nags: if the box jellyfish are not here, then where are they?

The ''boxies'' have a life cycle of about 12 months. The ones we saw here back in October were immature.

They are intelligent creatures, capable of seeing 360 degrees, and able to propel themselves. But where?

''That's a question I am keen to answer,'' says Dr Somchai Bussarawit, the chief of the museum and aquarium at the Phuket Marine Biological Centre.

He is in the water, too, looking on as researcher Surasit Utsaha checks the fishtraps. It's a glorious Phuket morning and Nam Bor Bay gleams beautifully.

But there's this green stuff across the foreshore. Ah, of of course. It's algae bloom, returning againt to cover large stretches of coral rocks and sand, indicating that the state of Phuket's seas may not be as pure as they once were.

For Dr Somchai, the puzzles of the ''boxies'' and the bloom are all part of what makes marine science fascinating these days, dovetailing as it does with global warming and other environmental issues.

I notice traces of oil on the surface of the water near one of the fish traps and pieces of trash and broken glass around, too.

If the jellyfish have any sense, perhaps they have gone somewhere cleaner . . .

WHAT they leave behind is an awareness campaign that is improving safety at beaches on Phuket and around the Andaman.

Once it was known that box jellyfish were in the region, a debate took place behind the scenes as to whether people (read 'tourists') really needed to know they were here.

Fortunately, the authorities decided to adopt international standards, to issue warnings and to advise people on how to deal with box jellyfish stings.

With the involvement of the Governor, Dr Preecha Ruangjan, the jellyfish awareness campaign blossomed into a beach safety campaign.

More needs to be done, but by next high season, most popular beaches should have beach paramedical rescue teams who have been trained to deal with all kinds of beach hazards.

Awareness of the box jellyfish is also now regionwide, with Dr Somchai holding a series of seminars for up to 200 people. More are still to come even wider afield, in Samui and Surat Tani.

A larger gathering is scheduled for April, with an expert flying in from Australia.

What the Andaman and its tourists still need to know is where the box jellyfish plan to stay when they come to the region again. And where they are now.

Understanding everything there is to know about the box jellyfish is probably the region's most important scientific endeavor since the 2004 tsunami, when forensics experts from around the world helped to identify thousands of unnamed victims.

While there is no direct connection between the two unexpected and unwanted arrivals, the big wave proved one thing, once and for all.

It is much better to know what Nature plans next, to warn everyone, and to be prepared for all eventualities.

Nature and Tourism


Phuket's Turtles Disappearing With Development
Latest
Fishing and ceaseless development are wiping out one of Phuket's most charming natural attractions, the turtles. Conservationists are losing the battle to progress and profit taking.
Phuket's Turtles Disappearing With Development


Jetski Mishap Mars Holiday at Nai Harn
Jetski Jellyfish Photo Album
A jetski mishap at Nai Harn beach leaves a young girl injured and once again highlights the dangers of a questionable form of holiday fun.
Jetski Mishap Mars Holiday at Nai Harn

Phuket Box Jellyfish: Warning Guides Fast Tracked
Information about the dangerous box jellyfish will be spread among resorts, tour guides and dive boats from next week as authorities react rapidly to warn visitors and residents.
Phuket Box Jellyfish: Warning Guides Fast Tracked

Yuk! Jellyfish Plague Invades Patong Beach
Jellyfish Album
Patong beach is enduring an invasion of jellyfish of an undetermined kind, alarming some visitors and raising concerns about tourism and the environment of Phuket.
Yuk! Jellyfish Plague Invades Patong Beach

Patong Jellyfish: Other Beaches Plagued
Nai Harn/Patong Photo Album
Reports are coming in of other beaches under siege from jellyfish. As marine biologists determine the species, Phuketwan readers report other infestations.
Patong Jellyfish: Other Beaches Plagued

Box Jellyfish 'Found On Phuket's West Coast'
An Australian couple on a luxury yacht appear to have become the first people to identify the presence of dangerous box jellyfish on Phuket's popular west coast.
Box Jellyfish 'Found On Phuket's West Coast'

Jellyfish Photo Albums


Phuket Jellyfish Alert: The Biggest Test Yet?
Photo Album 'Sun, surf, sand ... but deadly jellyfish cast shadow on Phuket.' Hong Kong readers learn about Phuket's biological crisis.
Phuket Jellyfish Alert: The Biggest Test Yet?

Phuket Box Jellyfish: Are We In Danger?
Photo Album Virtually every day now, box jellyfish are being found at a spot not far from Phuket City as marine biologists puzzle over their unexpected presence. Should we be alarmed?
Phuket Box Jellyfish: Are We In Danger?

Essential Reading


Phuket Jellyfish Alert: Expert To Fly In, Seminar Too
More accurate information should become available about the dangerous box jellyfish discovered on Phuket's east coast after an expert flies in for further research.
Phuket Jellyfish Alert: Expert To Fly In, Seminar Too

Phuket Alert: Expert Guide to Jellyfish
The box jellyfish found in a Phuket bay have probably always been here, says an expert. She shatters some of the myths and offers hope for safety programs to prevent deaths and injuries.
Phuket Alert: Expert Guide to Jellyfish

Phuket Jellyfish Alert: No Cause For Panic
The Governor of Phuket hears a briefing on the Phuket box jellyfish alert and suggests continuing research, alerting people to the dangers and the treatment of stings, and avoiding panic
Phuket Box Jellyfish:'No Cause For Panic'

Phuket Box Jellyfish: Biologist Sounds Alert
Phuket's Marine Biological Centre has issued an alert over the presence of box jellyfish in waters off Krabi and Phuket. Scientists are continuing to try to define more clearly the dangers, without unnecessary alarm.
Phuket Box Jellyfish: Biologist Sounds Alert

Box Jellyfish Found Off Phuket: Death in Krabi
The death of a tourist off Krabi and the discovery of a non-fatal form of box jellyfish off Phuket bring a call for help - and a claim that many more deaths go unrecorded.
Box Jellyfish Found Off Phuket: Death in Krabi

Comments

Comments have been disabled for this article.

gravatar

" Once pure waters"?
No more! Surin Beach has raw sewage draining into it at high tide, Yummy.

Posted by Christy on February 21, 2009 09:18


Wednesday October 9, 2024
Horizon Karon Beach Resort & Spa

FOLLOW PHUKETWAN

Facebook Twitter