The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has joined the efforts to help corals off Koh Maithon to recover by providing 240 frames of now-defunct frames of power cable insulators for corals to grow on and for reef fish to use as their new home.
The insulator frames were installed off Koh Maithon, just over eight kilometres direct southeast off the tip of Cape Panwa, Friday last week (June 23) through an operation carried out by the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR).
The DMCR has placed particular focus on helping the cool reefs off Koh Maithon to recover, and led an operation in February to install at the site 39 3D-printed concrete frames made available through a project by the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation (PPAO). The project was made possible by funding raised by local Rotary clubs and through sponsorship provided by SCG Cement.
“This mission is therefore a very important cooperation of all sectors to participate in the restoration of Phuket’s coral reefs. which are marine and coastal resources that are important to the ecosystem and the integrity of the sea and a source of income in terms of tourism and People in Phuket who rely on fishing for an income,” said PPAO President Rewat Areerob at that event in February.
“It also promotes the image of sustainable tourism of Phuket,” he added.
“In addition to EGAT taking care of the stability of the country’s power system, EGAT also realises and attaches importance to taking care of society, communities and the environment, and joins the government in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” said Kitti Petchsantad, EGAT’s Deputy Governor for Transmission Systems, said at the installation event off Koh Maithon last Friday.
DMCR Deputy Director Apichai Ekwanakul, who is currently serving as the Acting DMCR Director-General, also at the event on Friday, explained that a study to develop a model and method for using suitable materials in the work of coral reef restoration was conducted last year.
“It was found that after placing insulators in the area of Koh Maithon, different types of coral larvae grew to between two to 12 centimetres on average after 12 months. The surface of the insulator material became covered with microalgae and marine animals and many groups of fish started to live in the coral restoration area,” Mr Apichai said.
“This shows how to grow and restore natural corals from insulators. There is a good tendency to create a healthy ecosystem for coral reef organisms, resulting in complex living structures that increase the amount of natural resources under the Thai sea,” he said.
Assoc Prof Dr Teekamon Pengsakul, Director of the Research Center for Health and Environment at the Prince of Songkla (PSU) Phuket campus, agreed.
“The old ceramic insulators became habitats for marine animals. This is a way to help restore the habitat of marine animals effectively,” he said.
“We have conducted tests on using old insulators under simulated marine environments, and we have found that the use of insulators to create habitats for marine animals can be achieved without any leaching of heavy metals that are toxic to living organisms and they do not affect the environment,” Dr Teekamon said.
“In addition, we detected no changes in the salinity and the acid-base (pH level) of the surrounding sea.water. It remained in the same range as natural sea water,” he added.
EGAT Deputy Governor for Transmission Systems Mr Kitti explained that EGAT has joined with a network of partners for its ‘Coral Restoration Base Project’ that uses old frames of power-cable insulators to help coral reefs to recover.
“The project has been operating since 2011, and targets selected areas to have old insulators that have expired and deteriorated installed… At present, more than 4,000 sets of insulators have been placed in the seas of Thailand at various points throughout the country, including in Phuket, Chonburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phang Nga, Songkhla, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces,” Mr Kitti said.
“Let’s build a habitat and nursery for marine animals to restore the ecosystem along the coast to be fertile,” he concluded.
