To say we have been busy over the past few months is quite an understatement so do please forgive the time lapse / pause between our recent posts. Last year we wrapped up our shark research program with help from Tasmania University. We conducted analysis on Brown Banded Bamboo sharks, to see if our release program was working.
The paper produced and test that Dive Tribe carried out did point towards a successful survival rate of by-catch released sharks. We have since seen the bamboo shark population increase in areas where just a few years ago we were seeing very few if any at all. Dive Tribe will continue to re-address the balance and have more shark tagging and release programs set up for the future.
You can see pictures from the research program HERE  and a video  HERE

This year has started with our organisation talking with authorities regarding the protection of coral reefs at Koh Sak Island and also Koh Larn Island. We have had meetings with the Marine Department, Local Municipalities, The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources and the Marine Police. We discussed the possibility of building artificial reefs at the two locations and also implementing protection of divers at these sites. The artificial reef is in the process of being assembled and we have installed marker buoys asking boats not to anchor near the area  and also new mooring buoys at the site for boats to safely anchor. We have now designed volunteer packages for divers , so if you would like to help build the reef and want a package of cheap dives while you are here , please get in contact with us to see our very favourable dive rates.

The Artificial Reef Program is now starting to take shape with thanks to our volunteers and special thanks to one of our sponsors from Belgium Dive Technics that has supplied lift bags to help us with our heavy lifting work. Dive Tribe have looked at the reefs around Koh Sak and decided that the concrete cubes that were placed into the ocean have become a nuisance to boat captains , they are constantly hit by boat anchors and also dragged across reefs and the sand. By moving all of the cubes to a safe area chaining them all together to stop them moving and constructing an artificial reef and coral nursery this will protect the outlying reef areas and give divers an alternative dive site. The concrete cubes are also prepared for coral planting by removing bio-debris and will eventually be planted with coral frags by our students this year. We have a small blog from one of our volunteers that helped us with the construction of the artificial reef HERE , it's worth a read if marine conservation is a subject that interests you.

Since beginning the Artificial Reef Program, Dive Tribe have also been busy installing mooring buoys at the site using their Helix Anchor Drill and screw system . This system was sponsored by Dragon Capital  and has helped Dive Tribe install many moorings over the past few years at a number of dive locations in Koh Sak. We have also designed, built and installed our own marker buoys that let boat captains know not to throw anchors near our artificial reef area, and we hope these along with the moorings will keep the area secure. We will be looking at all the moorings this year and be replacing them with 16mm steel cable instead of rope. The reason? Many of our moorings are stolen and since using the steel cable method we have lost none. Currently we are using rope and barrels to mark the mooring areas, but as soon as we get some donations we will change over to cable and then add our mooring buoys. These mooring buoys are not cheap at 5,000 baht a buoy we just can  not afford to loose anymore!   

So What Else Is New At Dive Tribe? The answer to that question is technical !!
We mean technical diving, including rebreathers from Hollis Explorer to full closed circuit rebreathers such as the Prism. Dive Tribe now offer technical training at their facility. So from sidemount through to decompression diving , mixed gas blender or rebreathers we have you covered. All our courses are offered through the largest training agency in this arena Technical Diving International.   So why not take a course with us and come and visit some of the wrecks and reefs we have here in Pattaya. The course details are HERE  and we will be happy to give you more details and organise bookings and transport to and from our dive destinations during your training days. We have 5 Hollis Rebreathers at our disposal so even if you required just to rent a unit while here on holiday and have the required certification we will be happy to supply you with the unit and gas.

To prove that we have not be resting on our laurels the story continues, at the beginning of this year we were contacted by a resort in Koh Samui that had the same passion and drive that Dive Tribes CEO / Gwyn Mills has for all things marine conservation based. Between us we hatched out a program and agreement and I am pleased to say that we now have a new resort that carries the Dive Tribe logo and will adhere to the strong conservation ethic that makes Dive Tribe Thailand a leader in marine conservation in Thailand. The resort is now open and by the middle of the year Samui Dive Tribe will be offering a range of marine conservation courses and projects that volunteers can sign up for. We will be offering an Ecological Monitoring Program, a short class in shark conservation and tagging and looking at ways to protect coral reefs and rebuild reefs that have suffered over the years through marine mismanagement. This was an easy decision for Dive Tribe to make, once we had talked with John Baker and listened to his genuine passion for marine conservation then it made perfect sense to us to have a presence in another area and then help direct that towards marine conservation and marine education. If your not diving with us in Pattaya then we hope that you look towards diving with our sister ship in Koh Samui. Remember if you dive with us you also help protect our marine environment . Samui Dive Tribes web site is HERE  

This March also had Dive Tribe out filming with marine biologist Jeff Corwin. Yes that's the guy who presents "Ocean Mysteries" on Animal Planet. We did a special for him on Seahorse conservation and took him down to meet those cute critters. We found  total of 6 seahorses that day at our special seahorse site.
We logged and documented them and discussed why seahorses were endangered and talked about why this site in Pattaya is so special and has such and abundance of seahorses. The Seahorse research will be continuing this April when Dr Lynn Loh and Dr Lindsey Ayelesworth join me to dive the site and begin tagging seahorses and looking further into their mysterious life. The project is funded by SHEDD Aquarium and iSeahorse. Dive Tribe is stoked to be working alongside the team and continuing with the research for the rest of the year. Remember if you do have any seahorse sightings you can log them at the ISeahorse website.     

Marine Debris seems to be a hot potato and I was interested to see just how much debris one dive instructor and his student could clear in one year. So I have been busy with all my open water students teaching them not only how to dive but how to protect the environment they dive in. I call this "MAKE EVERY DIVE A CLEAN UP DIVE". So at the end of their course we go and have an extra dive and see how much debris we can collect on a single dive. I then weigh and log the results for each dive and then have kept a running total for the year. So far we have collected over 70kg of marine debris, including shoes , batteries, plastic bottles and polythene bags, discarded fishing line, nets , cigarette lighters and even a sandwich toaster !! 
Now what amazes me is the general apathy of divers! Divers that have been with me know not to simply swim past plastic debris and leave it there. My divers for the most part will pick it up and put it in a BCD pocket or in the mesh bags I give them that have been generously donated to me by Project Aware. But I have been on dives where I have seen divers just leave the trash on the reefs and continue on their dives.

So this brings me onto the second part of my conservation rant. All to often we have posted pictures of anchors damaging reefs and the cry from the public in unison is "SOMETHING MUST BE DONE". Well we know its like trying to get blood out of a stone dealing with authorities and to secure any funding for marine conservation. So as a community of divers we have to get together and support those that are willing to do something. Now we as an organisation have over 20,000 likes on facebook, many on Twitter and Youtube and when we put a post up asking the dive community for help all we here is crickets. (NOTHING /NADA) What happened to the "SOMETHING MUST BE DONE" crowd ? 
Now for the price of a coffee at Starbucks or a magazine once a week, ours and organisations like ours could really do some good that will benefit the marine environment. Let me give you an example: Currently we are installing mooring buoys to protect coral reefs, and these are being stolen at a rate faster than we can replace them. We came up with a method that secures the buoys and keeps them from being stolen.
How? We use 16mm cable that is attached to our mooring anchors on the seabed which is then attached to the buoys, this makes the buoys difficult to steal. This method has been proven to work , but it does cost more. Now we are willing to go out and do the work and protect reefs so that Dive Centers and divers have somewhere nice to dive and that our marine life still has a habitat. To be honest not many dive centers have come to us and asked us what they could do to help. To busy in the day to day running I guess, but it is these dive centers that are as complicit in damaging reefs just as much as fishermen and speed boats.
Also as divers we should be looking for opportunities to protect our marine habitat, and if such an opportunity is available then we need to embrace it and get on board. 
It's time for some honesty here folks and if you don't agree then maybe diving and the dive industry is not for you. With out reefs we will have no dive tourism industry and the place that i hold dear will be gone.

Remember for the price of a cup of coffee once a week you can help me and my team protect reefs in Koh Sak, then Koh Larn then out to Koh Rin and beyond .
Will I here crickets again......I will wait and see !!!!  
Alternatively you can help Dive Tribe continue to protect reefs by by donating as little as $5 or more.
Just scroll down the page and "click" add to cart at this LINK
If you doubt our work load and our commitment just take a look at what we have accomplished so far and how you can help in reef conservation in Thailand HERE     
Thank You For Your Consideration From All The Team At Dive Tribe.