Reef sharks seen in Maya Bay
Aschool of blacktip reef sharks has been spotted swimming in Maya Bay, boosting park officials’ hopes of restoring the tourist destination’s damaged ecosystem.
Nopparat Thara BeachPhi Phi Islands National Park officials said the sharks were seen on Tuesday swimming in the bay, which was closed to visitors four months ago.
The sighting, the second in recent days, shows that the environment is healing as new coral has been planted on reefs in the tourist-damaged bay, it said.
The blacktip reef shark is not dangerous to swimmers and frequents shallow water, according to Sharksider.com, a website providing information on sharks.
Maya Bay, in Krabi, was closed indefinitely in June after an influx of tourists damaged the bay and its ecosystem, especially coral reefs, with wastewater and garbage.
It became famous as the location for the movie The Beach starring Leonardo DiCaprio, which was shot there in 1999.
The small bay at Phi Phi Island covers only 18 rai but has hosted more than 1 million tourists a year since the movie came out, according to the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department.
The bay was “severely damaged”, Chongklai Worapongsathorn, deputy chief of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, told Chulalongkorn University’s CU Radio last Thursday, adding that Maya Bay still needed more time to recover. No details were to hand on how long.