Diving in the Myanmar Waters
Tours offers a wide range of diving trips with a choice of
many locations and dive sites. We offer you the full range of diving
trips - starting at a low budget level up to a luxurious diving
cruise on the best boats we have! We can offer precisely what you
want!
The dive sites of Myanmar (Burma) are some of the most beautiful and diverse
marine eco-systems in the world. We would guide you while exploring
this extraordinary dive sites, featuring one of the world's top
ten-dive site at the Burma Banks. You could also dive at some of the
world-renowned sites such as the Great Western Torres, Western
Rocky, Shark Cave, Roe Banks, South Twin, North Twin, etc.
Scuba diving safaris with premier liveaboard gives you
the opportunity to visit one of the last and most diversed,
untouched diving frontiers in Myanmar (Burma). Observe grey reef whale
sharks life at the Burma Banks, glide along with manta rays and many
schools of dolphins at the Andaman Sea!
We shall arrange entry visa-on-arrival for you at Kawthaung.
Responsible Diving
Dive sites tend to be located where the reefs and walls display the
most beautiful corals and sponges. It only takes a moment-an
inadvertently placed hand or knee, or a careless brush or kick with
a fin-to destroy this fragile, living part of our delicate
ecosystem. By following certain basic guidelines while diving, you
can help preserve the ecology and beauty of the reefs:
1. Never drop boat anchors onto a coral reef and take care not to
ground boats on coral. Encourage dive operators and regulatory
bodies in their efforts to establish permanent moorings at
appropriate dive sites.
2. Practice and maintain proper buoyancy control and avoid
overweighting.
Be aware that buoyancy can change over the period of an extended
trip. Initially you may breathe harder and need more weighting; a
few days later you may breathe more easily and need less weight.
Tip: Use your weight belt and tank position to maintain a horizontal
position-raise them to elevate your feet, lower them to elevate your
upper body. Also be careful about buoyancy loss: As you go deeper,
your wetsuit compresses, as does the air in your BC.
3. Avoid touching living marine organisms with your body and
equipment. Coral polyps can be damaged by even the gentlest contact.
Never stand on or touch living coral. The use of gloves is no longer
recommended: Gloves make it too easy to hold on to the reef. The
abrasion caused by gloves may be even more damaging to the reef than
your hands are. If you must hold on to the reef, touch only exposed
rock or dead coral.
4. Take great care in underwater caves. Spend as little time within
them as possible, as your air bubbles can damage fragile organisms.
Take turns to inspect the interior of a small cave or under a ledge
to lessen the chances of damaging contact
5. Be conscious of your fins. Even without contact, the surge from
heavy fin strokes near the reef can do damage. Avoid full-leg kicks
when diving close to the bottom and when leaving a photo scene. When
you inadvertently kick something, stop kicking! It seems obvious,
but some divers either panic or are totally oblivious when they bump
something. When treading water in shallow reef areas, take care not
to kick up clouds of sand. Settling sand can smother the delicate
reef organisms.
6. Secure any gauges, computer consoles and octopus so they're not
dangling-they are like miniature wrecking balls to a reef.
7. When swimming in strong currents, be extra careful about leg
kicks and
handholds.
8. Photographers should take extra precaution, as cameras and
equipment affect buoyancy. Changing f-stops, framing a subject and
maintaining position for a photo often conspire to defeat the ideal
"no-touch" approach on a reef. When you must use "holdfasts:' choose
them intelligently (e.g., use one finger only for leverage off an
area of dead coral).
9. Resist the temptation to collect or buy coral or shells. Aside
from the ecological damage, taking home marine souvenirs depletes
the beauty of a site and spoils the enjoyment of others.
10. Ensure that you take home all your trash and any litter you may
find as
well. Plastics in particular pose a serious threat to marine life.
11. Resist the temptation to feed fish. You may disturb their normal
eating habits, encourage aggressive behavior or feed them food that
is detrimental to their health.
12. Minimize your disturbance of marine animals. Don't ride on the
backs of turtles, manta rays or whale sharks as this can cause them
great anxiety. Even if an animal allows you to approach closely,
this is not an invitation to touch; keep your hands off the marine
life!
Diving Conservation & Awareness
Many of Myanmar's coral reefs are in very good or even excellent
condition, yet environmental threats are just as real here as in
other parts of the world. Along near shore areas, deforestation and
overdevelopment cause silty runoff that smothers corals and other
delicate marine life. Pollution is also a concern, with sewage from
urban areas, toxic chemicals from agriculture and industry, and
no biodegradable plastic trash all playing a part in threatening
reef ecology.
One of the most noticeable threats to the marine environment,
however, is the widespread use of destructive fishing methods. With
one of the largest fishing fleets in the world, Myanmar is among
many nations that struggle to balance the livelihood of fishers
against the need for conservation. While every fishing technique
impacts the environment, some are more harmful than others.
Hook-and-line fishing done on a commercial scale (commonly referred
to as long lining) causes great damage throughout Thailand's marine
environment. Huge numbers of fish are caught on baited hooks strung
out across vast areas. Sharks, which are among the many victims, are
especially vulnerable to over fishing, since slow maturation and
reproduction rates make it very difficult for their populations to
recover. Particularly wasteful is the practice of "fin fishing,"
whereby the sharks' fins, by far the most valuable part, are
removed, dried and sold for use in shark-fin soup. As the rest of
the animal is worth very little, fishers often discard the body,
sometimes still alive, leaving the finless shark to slowly starve to
death.
While hook-and-line fishing causes significant damage,
bottom-scouring methods like trawling are even more destructive. By
dragging large nets across the seafloor, boats using this technique
indiscriminately kill everything in their path. Resultant habitat
destruction further reduces the chance of many species' recovery.
Another major threat in some areas is blast fishing with dynamite. A
cheap and easy way to catch fish, this method is extremely wasteful,
since typically only a small percentage of the fish killed are
utilized; the majority are left to rot on the bottom. Blast fishing
also destroys the coral itself, resulting in a loss of habitat that
may take decades to recover. While it is technically illegal,
enforcement is difficult, since fishers must be caught virtually in
the act to be arrested. On the other hand, the threat of prosecution
must be some kind of deterrent, since blast fishing is now rare in
many areas where it used to be commonplace.
Coral bleaching-caused by warmer than usual water temperatures-has
occurred in several areas around Thailand, but only a few reefs have
been significantly impacted. Coral bleaching in this part of the
world is only a seasonal problem, and most reefs recover once water
temperatures return to normal.
Myanmar has made tremendous progress in addressing some of the
above concerns, setting an example that other countries would do
well to emulate. A good case in point is the extensive use of
moorings at dive sites. Ten or fifteen years ago, fishing and diving
boats commonly dropped anchor on reefs, thereby causing tremendous
damage to delicate corals. In the mid-1980s, a handful of
conscientious dive operators started using permanent moorings as an
alternative to anchors. As the idea caught on, the government got
involved and now works with dive operators to install and maintain
moorings throughout the country.
Scuba Diving Tours Program
Visitors could extend their activities at Myeik(Mergui)
Archipelago by buying Scuba Diving Tour Packages around Salone
Island.
• Dive Boat Fleet
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