Hin Daeng/Muang Condition?

Anyone been to Hin Daeng/Muang recently (in the past year)? I heard that Muang lost almost all its soft corals from an unknown reason and is pretty barren anymore?

I am looking for a short trip out from Bangkok in Feb. and don't really want to do the Similians with 10 other liveaboards at the same site and don't have the time right now to do Burma. So, was thinking of hitting up a 3/2 day trip to Phi Phi/ Hin Daeng/Muang area which I have never dove before.

???

Anyone been to Hin Daeng/Muang recently (in the past year)? I heard that Muang lost almost all its soft corals from an unknown reason and is pretty barren anymore?

 

I am looking for a short trip out from Bangkok in Feb. and don't really want to do the Similians with 10 other liveaboards at the same site and don't have the time right now to do Burma. So, was thinking of hitting up a 3/2 day trip to Phi Phi/ Hin Daeng/Muang area which I have never dove before.

 

???

I was there in january 2008 and then Hin Moang was devestated. It was a greenish/brownish rock:

We still had a good day, as you can see. But without the mantas it would have been a very depressing day. I remember Hin Moang as THE best site I have seen for soft coral.

Hin Daeng was in better shape, but had damaged parts. And it was never as beatiful to begin with as HM inmo. Two years has passed since my visit and I've heard claims from time to that coral has regenerated a lot there ... Soft coral can grow pretty quickly as we all saw in the Maldives after the 1998 El Nino, but I have a hard time believing Hin Mouang can be anywhere near its glory pre-spring 2007.

Good luck

Wow... first I've heard of that. I'm going in March and was planning a day or 2 on the speedboats heading down there.

Wow... first I've heard of that. I'm going in March and was planning a day or 2 on the speedboats heading down there.

I was there around the 27:th December. Lots of soft corals, but no big stuff in the water.

I did lots of diving there in 03/04 (worked as DM), and I felt there was way less big fishes, ei baracudas, travelleys and tunas there now. There was about 75% manta chance aswell, and this season they haven't had much mantas there at all.

Still a beautiful dive site in my opinion.

/Björn

The 2007/8 die off was due to some sort of cold current which dropped temps 7°C and lowered oxygen by 70%. The initial thoughts of cyanide and bomb fishing were a bit alarming but it is thought that some sort of upwelling of deep underwater currents. Good to hear it's coming back. Maybe I'll pop over something this month to check it out.

Bjorn is that the east side of Hin Muang you found the soft corals?

I was there around the 27:th December. Lots of soft corals, but no big stuff in the water.

 

I did lots of diving there in 03/04 (worked as DM), and I felt there was way less big fishes, ei baracudas, travelleys and tunas there now. There was about 75% manta chance aswell, and this season they haven't had much mantas there at all.

 

Still a beautiful dive site in my opinion.

/Björn

Great to hear it's on a rebounce.

/c

The 2007/8 die off was due to some sort of cold current which dropped temps 7°C and lowered oxygen by 70%. The initial thoughts of cyanide and bomb fishing were a bit alarming but it is thought that some sort of upwelling of deep underwater currents. Good to hear it's coming back. Maybe I'll pop over something this month to check it out.

Bjorn is that the east side of Hin Muang you found the soft corals?

Trying to work out where I was when I shot this, but yes, I'd say southern part, coming back from the "sandy" around 20-24m area. Then heading back toward the bowline, with the reef on my right shoulder.

But coral-wise they were all over the place.

I did some diving at Ko Haa aswell, and I was surprised that at island #1 had so much soft coral. One rock , where there used to be a sea horse at 24m, was now completely covered in soft corals. Quite different from how it used to be.

/Björn

Thanks for the info! Looks like its coming back quite a bit!

I was trying to decide to do a few days out on those "rocks" or just keep to the closer local spots around Phi Phi Islands.

Just cant bring myself to a Similian trip with potential for so many boats at the same spot. I would rather wait for a nice window of time and do a proper trip to Burma!

Thanks for the info! Looks like its coming back quite a bit!

 

I was trying to decide to do a few days out on those "rocks" or just keep to the closer local spots around Phi Phi Islands.

 

Just cant bring myself to a Similian trip with potential for so many boats at the same spot. I would rather wait for a nice window of time and do a proper trip to Burma!

Similan/Surin has some really nice spots. Richelieu Rock is inmo the best spot in Thailand. Crowded at times, yes, but that is true for Hin Daeng/Hin Mouang as well. But to do day trips to Similan/Surin you should be based in Khao Lak. Otherwise liveaboardd is the best option.

good luck