Koh Tao or ‘Turtle Island’, an island in Thailand, is one of the world’s best learn-to-dive destinations, attracting about 320, 000 tourists annually. It suggests good income for the locals but also spells trouble for the island’s coral reefs.
Save Koh Tao (SKT) Community Group was thus formed to work on the environmental and social issues faced in Koh Tao. They have 3 focuses – Marine Conservation, Land Conservation and Education. Despite being a hot-spot for tourists, they want to conserve their island’s precious resources and sustain the locals’ livelihood. They collaborate with agencies and local businesses for different environmental issues, education and development of their own research programs.
As the community recognised that giant clams are crucial species for the health of the island’s coral reefs, SKT worked with Thai Fisheries Department to restock the declining giant clams populations. Captive-breed giant clams in Prachuap Khiri Khan were brought in for mariculture in Koh Tao. SKT members would do regular assessments of the giant clams and their environment.
New Heaven Reef Conservation Program (NHRCP), which is another marine conservation program under New Heaven Dive School in Koh Tao, helps to care and maintain the health and populations of these giant clams too. They implemented and improved methods to better grow and secure the giant clams, preventing it from getting poached away or destroyed by natural disasters.
Some improvements were:
- Secure cages to the seabed to prevent destruction by storms.
- Using a better substrate – artificial concrete settlement tiles – to allow the giant clams to settle down better and grow.
These two groups in the community, along with Thai Fisheries Department, give a good example of a cooperative community effort to adopt giant clams mariculture for the conservation of their beautiful island which is important for the locals’ livelihood.
To read on other Save Koh Tao’s projects, check out this website!