Scuba Diving in Khao Sok - Fresh Water

Khao Sok National Park is slowly becoming a popular diving destination for those who want an escape form the hustle and bustle of popular destinations and would like to experience something completely unique with fresh water diving with the options of caves and caverns.

Additionally, Khao Sok is the opposit of Koh Tao with respect to weather. When it’s terrible on Koh Tao it’s perfect in Khao Sok. This means we have more options now for training and completing courses with the added benefit of giving our customers more of what they want; diving options!...[Link]

Kenting corals spawning

Corals in the waters off the Kenting National Park in southern Taiwan are spawning, according to a diver and coral reef ecology observer who said he saw clumps of pink coral eggs drifting off Taiwan's southwestern coast.

Tsai Yung-chun, who made the discovery Monday, said he anticipated that the spawning will peak on April 18.

On his most recent dive, Tsai said, he also observed an increase in the population of cleaner shrimps in the protected marine area, which is a sign that the efforts to restore the marine ecology in Kenting are bearing fruit...[TaiwanNews.com]

World's first undersea basalt columns found in Penghu, Taiwan

Undersea columns of basalt have been found near an uninhabited islet in offshore Penghu County in Taiwan and are believed by the finder to be the only ones of this type in the world.

Jeng Ming-hsiou, a researcher from Academia Sinica came across the stunning scene in May when he was diving off Dayao islet north of Penghu main island to study the mass death of fish there early last year.

Jeng said the undersea columns are about 200 meters long and 10 meters high. Because of the strong undersea currents, Jeng said he could not take pictures of the columns, although he dived twice to measure the size.

The undersea columns, with the clear five-sided or six-sided structure typical of basalt formations, are covered in barnacles and coral, according to Jeng...[TaiwanNews.com]

Scuba diver plans to dive into Bay of Bengal

The internationally acclaimed scuba diver of Orissa, Sabir Bux, who had recorded a five-minute music album filmed by him under water in Mahanadi in Orissa to wish luck to the Indian cricket team for World Cup-2007, besides filming underwater video album celebrating India’s Independence Day in Saudi Arabia aired in the India Festival-2005, is going to explore the hidden facts of the 133-years-old sunken French ship, which was sunk in the Bay of Bengal near Hukitola, by diving into the sea.

To explore and study the mysterious details of the sunken ship, Sabir Bux is scheduled to visit Kendrapara on December 30. He holds a rescue diver card issued by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) of the UK, besides the professional license, certificate for open water, advance open water, underwater photography and videography, search and recovery and Medic First Aid.

The then collector of Cuttack, John Beames, who served as collector and district magistrate in Balesore from 1869 to 1873 and in Cuttack from 1875 to 1878, in his autobiography, ‘Memories of a Bengal Civilian’ has described about the sunken ship, which is of about 250-feet-long whereas its width is about 50 feet.

As per the description made by John Beames in his autobiography, the French cargo ship, ‘Veleda’ sunk in a cyclone, which occurred in the Bay of Bengal in the year 1875 near Hukitola about 35 km from Kendrapara coast. The ship, which was sunk, was carrying foodgrains, sugar, liquor, wine and other goods from Paris to India. Some crew members of the ship were also drowned due to the storm and their bodies were buried in a cemetery behind the lighthouse...[Merinews.com]

Underwater wonder

As the sun sets on Puerto Princesa, the laid-back capital of Palawan, the engines of the Stella Maris start to growl.

The ship sets out just after dark, heading into the Sulu Sea in the southern Philippines, plying towards the Tubbataha Reefs. After 10 hours in the open ocean, the engines shudder to a stop just after dawn. It is suddenly quiet. Very, very quiet. We could see two tiny nubs of black rock jutting out of the sea.

The Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park sits in the middle of nowhere in the Sulu Sea, halfway between Palawan, the long sliver of an island on the western edge of the Philippines, and Mindanao, the last main island before Indonesian waters.

There is no mobile phone service, no Internet connection and no decompression chamber. It is also home to the best diving in the country. The Tubbataha Reefs are 180km from Palawan, far enough from land to discourage most fishermen.

Halfway through our dive trip, we visit the marine park ranger station located here. The rangers, a mix of nine men from the Philippine navy, coast guard and local government, spend three months at a time on the base. But they do not rush to crack open the case of beer we have brought them.

'Have you voted for Tubbataha yet?' asks Mr Romnic Molina, a smiling 20-something naval guy in a bright blue bandana and a grey Tubbataha T-shirt. 'I have. You should!' He is referring to a global Web-based campaign (www.new7wonders.com) to list the new 'seven wonders of the natural world', which is run by a Swiss-based company called New7Wonders. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who dived here in April, is pushing for Tubbataha to be included in the list...[AsiaOneTravel]

Tioman Island For The Top Ten

When we read that Tioman Island, off the east coast of Malaysia, was making top 10 lists of the world's best islands back in the 1970s, we wondered why we'd never heard of it before.

But it seems Tioman had already had its 15 minutes of fame even then: Way back in 1958 it was used as the "Bali Hai" location for the film "South Pacific." (Ask your parents. Or grandparents.) Yet we've seen the name pop up a couple of times recently, so we suspect they're trying to bring back the good times.

These days you can get a ferry there from the mainland Malaysian coast or get a flight from Kuala Lumpur or Singapore; there are a few different accommodation options though it's all still pretty low-key. There's great scuba-diving both on reefs and wrecks and a bunch of relaxing beaches, so it seems like there's reason enough to try it out. At best, it'll be a fantastic summer vacation spot and at worst, it'll be a time travel trip back to what was hip in the '70s...[Jaunted]

Thailand: Coral Reefs Recovering Quick From Tsunami Damage

Indonesia's coral reefs damaged by the 2004 tsunami are recovering rapidly, helped by natural colonization and a drop in illegal fishing, scientists said Friday (26 Dec).

Surveys taken after the 26 Dec 2004 disaster showed up to a third of reefs were damaged and experts predicted it would take a decade for full recovery.

Scientists from the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society said their examination of 60 sites on 497 miles (800 kilometers) of coastline along Indonesia's Aceh province showed the reefs were bouncing back.

"On the 4th anniversary of the tsunami, this is a great story of ecosystem resilience and recovery," said Dr. Stuart Campbell, coordinator of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Indonesia Marine Program.

"Our scientific monitoring is showing rapid growth of young corals in areas where the tsunami caused damage, and also the return of new generations of corals in areas previously damaged by destructive fishing," Campbell said in a statement. "These findings provide new insights into coral recovery processes that can help us manage coral reefs in the face of climate change."...[MySinchew.com]