Sat Jan 15, 3:48 AM ET
PHUKET, Thailand (AFP) - Thailand's largest coral clean-up operation intensified, with hundreds of divers rushing to clear tonnes of debris polluting world-class dive sites in the Andaman Sea before April monsoons.
Thailand's marine and coastal resources department director general Maitree Duangsawasdi estimated that only around 10 percent of some 78 square kilometres (30 square miles) of coral reefs in the Andaman Sea were damaged by the December 26 earthquake and giant waves.
But potentially deadly debris ranging from general garbage to kitchen sinks littering the ocean floor are harming the coral and could impede reef regeneration, he told AFP.
The tsunami-battered Phi Phi islands southeast of Phuket island are probably the dirtiest, with an estimated 1,000 tonnes of debris in the ocean and some 7,000 tonnes on land, he said.
Phuket's west coast got off a little lighter, with several hundred tonnes of garbage likely to have obscured the blue waters surrounding popular tourist beaches in Patong, Karon and Kata.
"Coral reef is not only important to marine resources but to Thailand's tourism industry," Maitree said after flagging off some 300 divers, mainly volunteers from local dive shops and foreign tourists, at Patong beach.
"We must try to clear the debris before April because the monsoon season will bring more dirt, and this could cause damage to the corals to stretch into the long-term."
Despite scores of dive shops in Thailand being obliterated by the tsunamis, several of Phuket's 80-odd dive operators contributed personnel to the vast effort.
The clean-up kicked off earlier this month at Phi Phi and moved this weekend to Phuket beaches. Next month divers turn their sites on Krabi and Phang Nga provinces, officials said.
Apart from the 300 divers at Patong, another 70 people in three boats gathered at another jetty to head to the Ratcha Yai dive site.
Maitree said one day's activity could cost about 10,000 dollars, but support from the diving community had been outstanding, with people coming from Bangkok just over the weekend to help out.
Off the shores of Patong, a Buddhist monk on board the MV Discovery vessel owned by Santana Diving recited a prayer and blessed each diver before they jumped into the sea.
"We pray to the dragon god of the sea to protect the divers and to bless the souls of the thousands of tsunami victims who died in suffering," said monk Bhikkhu Buddha Dhatu.
In a pavilion on the beach, a dozen Buddhist devotees sitting around a long table chanted an hour-long special rite for the dead before burning paper money and making food offerings to the deceased.
Divers from several boats hauled in a catch of mainly corrugated iron and broken cement pieces from premises torn apart by the tsunamis, as well as broken bottles, garbage and fishing nets.
They said the water was generally clean, and several were excited after spotting a tiny seahorse and an array of colorful fishes.
Thailand's clean-up is supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which has provided equipment for the operation. The UNDP has warned that some sites suffered extreme sedimentation damage and that heavy sand will eventually kill the coral if it is not removed.
