Anchor damage is one of the most readably obvious and easily avoided problems facing our coral reefs, and much of it stems directly from SCUBA diving activities.  A single anchor dropping can destroy hundreds of years of coral growth and, on a global scale, the dropping of anchors is a bigger threat to reefs than dynamite fishing. With all of the alterative available, there is no excuse for dropping anchors on the reef, and any business that does so is being reckless and irresponsible. But unfortunately, as many divers can attest to, this is a common problem in many areas.

On Koh Tao, Thailand, local dive schools part of the Save Koh Tao Community group have been working alongside the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) and the Department of Fisheries (DOF) since 2008 to ensure that every dive and snorkeling site has an adequate number of working mooring lines. After a few short years we had maintained or installed over 130 mooring lines around the island, but these were still not enough, as more and more boats are being added each year to accommodate the growing number of divers flocking to the island. Furthermore, most of the mooring where tied to large rocks or coral heads, which was ok in the beginning, but as some dive schools started to buy boats that could accommodate 80+ divers there is a big risk of these large coral heads being broken and dragged through the reef.

In 2010 we began to experiment with various forms of mooring line anchors, including the use of sand screws which were generously funded by a grant from Project Aware. The sand screws worked well in deep, muddy areas (>30m depth), but our volunteers were unable to drill them anywhere near a coral reef –where the divers want to be. We also experimented with some small concrete blocks provided by the DMCR, but later found the design to be ineffective and the weight too low.  

In 2012, Professor Sakanan Platong, “Ajarn Boy”, from the Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai took a major interest in helping our efforts, and managed to secure funding from 3 locally based oil exploration companies to fund the purchase and deployment of 45 large concrete blocks to be placed in priority areas. These blocks were placed down in late 2013, and the work to finish tying them off was completed in 2014, mostly by divers from the New Heaven Reef Conservation Program (NHRCP).

The 12 ton blocks work great, but as they were deployed from a large barge, it is not possible to put them actually in the coral reef, but instead they must be dropped in the adjacent sands. These is fine for most divers, but snorkeling boats want to drop customers right over the reef, plus we want a way to remove the moorings tied to coral heads, but not reduce the number of total mooring lines available for each area.

So, in late 2013 Ajarn Boy, Isoon Tepsaskul, and myself worked together to design a modular mooring line base that could be built locally, transported by volunteers, moved by longtail boat, and assembled in place. In early 2014, two units were installed by the NHRCP in Chalok as a pilot project, and following their success, funded was secured from Chevron to pay for 20 additional units. So far we have installed two others on our own, plus a third together with Eco Koh Tao.  Over the coming months we hope to get even more dive schools involved in helping out, bringing the total number of mooring lines around our island to about 190, with a goal of less than 10% being tied to coral heads by 2015.

These new units allow us to strategically place mooring lines in coral reef areas with little to no damage to the reef. One unit can be installed easily in a dive by volunteers, and we usually do 1 per day including the time needed to transport and deploy the pieces. The final assembly weighs about 2 tons, which is not adequate for the large diving boats, but is more than enough for longtails, speedboats, and most snorkeling boats in the area.

Any community can take on projects such as these, and mooring line projects are one of the first things that dive centers should do to ensure sustainable use of coral reefs areas. But even if you don’t own a dive center, you can make a big impact towards reducing anchor damage everywhere you dive by doing the following:

• Refuse to dive with centers that drop anchors- if they go there every day why haven’t they installed a place to park?
• Let dive center owners know if the boat drops an anchor, as many times they might not know it is going on
• Let boat captains know when you see damaged or worn mooring lines on your dive
• Get trained in local mooring line techniques and assist on maintenance during one or more of the dives on your holiday.
• Donate to local mooring line initiatives where you dive

To a large degree, the customers shape the dive industry, and unfortunately most divers just look at the price tags. Informed divers can help to improve the environmental and social responsibility of the centers they dive with by choosing wisely. There are lots of ways you can help the oceans, but one of the best ways is create the demand for high environmental standards and by being part of the new generation of conservation divers. Enjoy your next dive holiday destination, and remember to leave the area in better condition than you found it!