Burma and the Mergui (Myeik) Archipelago
Note: As of May 24, 2004, the Myanmar Government has outlawed
all shark fishing north of Lampi Island in the Mergui Archipelago.
Mergui Archipelago: More Pictures on Flickr
Download Ethan Daniels' Mergui article from Fins Magazine, Jan 2008
A huge unpopulated group of islands and reefs
In the early 1990’s, several dive operators out of Phuket,
looking for new diving frontiers in the Andaman Sea, began exploring
a series of underwater mountains 90 nautical miles northwest of
the Similan Islands that came to be known as the Burma Banks (this name came from dive shops and has nothing to do with local names or names on maps).
In a very short time, the Burma Banks became recognized as one of the
best places for divers to observe sharks close-up and personal–something
lacking in Thailand. As it turns out, this was just the beginning.
Even though these banks lie in international waters, by the middle
of the decade the Myanmar (Burmese) authorities became aware and
uneasy about the activity off of their coastline and asked the
dive boats to seek official permission from the government to
dive there.
After three-years of negotiations, in 1997 consent
was finally given to not only visit the now famous Burma Banks,
but also the islands in Myanmar’s inshore waters: The Mergui Archipelago or the Myeik Archipelago. This opened
up a whole new range of diving possibilities in the Andaman Sea,
and operators soon began promoting these new destinations offering
multi-day trips. Some boats visit both Thailand and Mergui on
the same itinerary, while others confine the journey to only Myanmar.
The main obstacle the area has to conventional diving is the distances
between dive sites. A typical eight-day circuit including Thailand
and Mergui can cover over 1,000 kilometers. Obviously, day-trips
are not and will never be, practical for exploring the area.
Lush, Unexplored Area
Historically, the archipelago had been an important area for
trade between Eastern and Western civilizations particularly in
the 18th Century. After World War Two with the major political
changes that took place in Burma and rest of Southeast Asia, the
archipelago fell into obscurity, resulting in over 50 years of
very little human activity. With over 300 islands, some of them
the size of Singapore or Phuket, and most of them completely uninhabited,
the area has unlimited potential as a playground for divers, yachties, kayakers or paddlers,
naturalists, and other pleasure seekers. Steps have already been
taken to preserve the islands, and the government seems to be
very interested in developing the area in a positive way. Unfortunately,
they are still ignoring the problem of blast fishing, and many
sites show signs of wear and tear that the dynamite causes.
Although
blast fishing has long been a popular and easy way to make a quick
buck, where tourism industries have developed, governments have
come to realize that tourism can bring more money and prosperity
to the people living in the area. This has effectively brought
the blasting to a halt. Blasting, of course, only benefits a few,
while tourism can benefit a whole population. The Myanmar Government
must come to understand this, and separate political and environmental
affairs for the benefit of their country and it’s population.
Meanwhile, the diving is excellent, but could be better if more
controls were implemented.
A user fee is charged by the Myanmar authorities to enter and
dive the Mergui (Myeik) Archipelago. All boats enter and depart via
Kawthaung
(Ko Song or Victoria Point are other names for it), just west
of Ranong, Thailand. All boats are required to enter and exit
the area from here: gone are the days where you could make a
quick run out from the Surin or Similan Islands (at least legally; rumors are some boats are violating this).
The Burma
Banks are no longer the prime reason to visit the area,
as there are so many better dive sites. Although sharks and
rays are seen on a regular basis both at the Burma Banks and
at
the
islands lying further inshore, environmental problems including
longline fishing and trawling has had an effect on this
type of
wildlife. Much has been written about the area being a place
to see sharks and other large fish, but the main reason
for visiting,
really, is to see the incredible variety of smaller fish and
reef invertebrates, many of which are not found in Thai
waters. This,
and the sheer immensity of the area are reasons to go. If catching
sight of large animals is the sole reason for visiting the
archipelago,
divers will be often disappointed. If you want to see fish and invertebrates not found anywhere else on the face of the earth, and one of the last uninhabited archipelagos in the world, you've come to the right place.
Diverse diving environments
There are four types
of diving environments in the archipelago: shallow, inshore
fringing island reefs where visibility is often
poor but the diversity of marine life is unsurpassed; offshore
fringing reefs where the visibility is considerably better,
and the coral much healthier; pinnacles and small rocky islands
which rise from the depths and attract larger marine life such
as sharks and rays; and banks which rise up from depths of
over
300 meters and attract different types of marine life altogether.
All in all, the Mergui Archipelago contains some of the most
diverse
and interesting marine ecosystems in the world.
Far inshore, the islands are lush with vegetation and primary
jungle, and contain some of the last jungle cats and other large
mammals to be found in Southeast Asia. For those who are interested
in more than diving, jungle walks and river trips can and should
be considered as part of your trip. Bird watchers and observers
of terrestrial life will be thrilled.
Further offshore, the islands are drier and lay in deep enough
water to afford good visibility. Here the corals, sea fans, and
fish life are similar to that found in Thailand, but with much
more diversity of species. This makes the diving better and more
exciting than in the waters to the east or to the south.
Face to Face with Sharks
At least nine species of sharks have been reported in Burma,
including bull, tiger, hammerhead, gray reef, nurse, mako, and
one of the most beautiful sharks I've ever seen, the spinner
shark: If you’re Australian, you’d call it a black
whaler. At the Burma Banks, whitetip, tawny nurse, and silvertip
sharks
are the ones to watch for.
The sharks one sees inshore at the
islands are different from the sharks at the Burma Banks.
Gray reef sharks, powerful and beautiful and a little bit scary,
are seen often in certain areas in certain years–not as often as we would like. Known to be
aggressive in some waters around the world, in Burma they are
shy and stay for the most part just on the edge of visibility.
However, if the diver pays attention, he can often be rewarded
with a close encounter, a thrilling experience.
Sharks are in serious threat around the world. Over 100 million
animals are killed each year, mainly for their fins–a huge waste
of food. Please do not purchase any shark products at any
time. The health
of
the
reef,
and the
enjoyment of seeing large animals is at stake. It's not only
about doing the right thing, it's about your pleasure as well.
And, your children's pleasure. And my pleasure quick frankly.
The Islands
Some of the more interesting dive sites in the archipelago are
described below, taking a general south to north route. Keep in
mind that these are just a few of the sites that you would visit
on a liveaboard cruise.
Western Rocky Island:
This limestone island
features beautiful underwater terrain, including a tunnel–often full of large tawny nurse sharks–which
traverses the island about 20-meters down. The island is more
like a series of pinnacles rather than one big rock and the
soft
limestone makes for crevices offering shelter for a wide variety
of sea creatures. Some of the marine life you will see here
include
mantas, gray reef and spinner sharks, and eagle rays in the open
water next to the island, while leopard sharks and spotted rays
lie on the bottom. On and around the rocks, spiny lobster, cowrie
shells, feather stars, anemones and an assortment of crabs abound.
Reef fish include blue-ringed angelfish, moray-eels, snappers,
frogfish, and ghost pipefish.
Fan Forest Pinnacle:
This site is just a few miles north of Western Rocky. The pinnacle
rises from a depth well beyond the limits of recreational divers,
to about 5-meters below the surface. It features huge orange sea
fans, black coral, and large barrel sponges. The potential for
spotting larger fish is excellent, but even if you do not, the
dive site is very dramatic and the fish life excellent, including
groupers or potato cod at the deeper depths.
The Burma Banks
These diving areas were very popular in the 1990s for two reasons: One, we couldn't visit the inshore areas of the archipelago as we didn't gain permission until 1997. Two, we used to see a lot of sharks here. Not so any longer as many of them were fished out in the late 1990s. A real shame, but very few boats visit The Burma Banks any longer.
Not officially part of the Mergui Archipelago as there are no
islands here, the Burma Banks, located about 80 nautical miles
west of Kawthaung, are a series of seamounts that rise up from
over 300-meters to just below the surface. Depths average 15-22
meters on the flat areas on top, dropping off slowly on the edges.
Some banks have a more dramatic drop off than others, but nowhere
will you find a vertical wall. Diving here requires careful planning,
as the currents are often strong and unpredictable. Guided drift
dives are the norm, usually starting on the edge of the bank in
35-meters of water where divers stare out in the blue looking
for large silvertip sharks. Commonly growing to just over two-meters
in length, these sharks are full-bodied, fascinating animals easily
identified by the white trailing edges on their pectoral fins
and caudal, or tail fins. Normally quite curious, but not aggressive,
these sharks will closely approach the diver making for incredible
photo opportunities. Unfortunately, we just don't see as many as we used to. Other types of sharks are seen at the banks,
including free-swimming nurse sharks, black tips, the occasional
gray reef, and the very occasional tiger or hammerhead shark.
Since the sharks are not currently around, the dogtooth tuna,
Spanish mackerel and jack fish that patrol the reef edges will
delight you. The coral is in very good shape in many places,
but this varies from year to year depending on storm activity
and
other environmental factors. Here you will find fish that you
don’t find anywhere else in the Andaman Sea, like the rare
Strickland’s triggerfish. You never know what you’re
going to see out here. Read more...
Three Islets (Shark Cave Island)
One of the most extraordinary dive sites, these three rocks that
rise out of the sea from depths of 40-meters or more harbors some
of the best marine life in the archipelago. Huge schools of fusilier
and silversides surround you upon entering the water. The sandy
base of the islands reveals unusual anemones and starfish, while
the walls are covered with orange cup corals, whip corals, and
green tubastrea coral. It is one of the better areas to see harlequin
shrimp and harlequin ghost pipe fish.
If you’re looking for drama, there is a canyon that leads
to a tunnel connecting the northern and southern part of the main,
middle island. Here, if you’re lucky, you can witness gray
reef sharks swimming in and out of the canyon. The trick here
is to hang out against the east side of the wall and just watch.
As long as there are not too many divers in the canyon, the sharks
will soon lose their shyness and swim very close to you. Up to
12 animals have been seen together.
North Twin Island
Although there are several interesting dive sites surrounding
this island, the most beautiful area lies to the west, several
hundred meters from the island itself. It’s almost a separate
pinnacle rather than being part of the island. Here you will find
large, colorful sea fans and beautiful soft corals that have attached
themselves to the rocky substrate. It’s a very striking dive
and generally the water is more clear here than on other sites
in the south.
North Twin Plateau
Located just northwest of North Twin, this large plateau starts
at around six-meters and carries on down to between 24 and 30-meters.
It’s quite a large dive site, and it’s best to start
in the deeper areas and find an interesting vein to explore as
you move towards the surface. Lots of large sea fans make this
look similar to many of the West Coast dives in the Similan Islands.
The clear water helps this comparison. Barracuda and rainbow runners
cruise the outer edges of the reef, and sandbar sharks have been
sighted here.
Black Rock
Probably the most spectacular site with the most potential for
big stuff in the archipelago, Black Rock is a rocky island approximately
100-meters long, located about 50-nautical miles north of North
Twin Island. Here is the closest you’ll come to having a
true wall dive, with depths to over 60-meters and a dramatic drop
off in most areas. Although visibility can change dramatically
here due to strong currents at certain times of the month, there
is plenty to see here and many dives are possible on this one
site. The currents can also make this an advanced dive, with up
and down currents–not to mention the sideways ones–causing
all kinds of fun and games for divers. Be careful of your depths,
and try and stay close to the rock itself to duck out of the currents.
It’s best to start the dive in deeper waters, watching the
currents, and keeping a look out for larger life including manta
rays and their smaller cousins, mobula rays. Gray reef and other
species of shark are seen here regularly. Whale sharks as well.
If larger animals are sighted, it’s best to just hang out
and wait for them to come around you. As you’ll be doing
more than one dive here due to it’s remoteness, if you see
large marine life, keep looking. Leave later dives for watching
the smaller marine life that is the main attraction here.
Some of the fish you will see here include black-spotted pufferfish,
spotted hawkfish, scorpionfish, and blue-ringed angelfish. If
you are a moray eel fan, then this is your dive site. Many unusual
and rarely seen morays are common, including extra-large common
green, zebra, and fimbriated and white-eyed morays. Octopus and
cuttlefish can be found here, the latter easy to photograph.
Onwards and upwards
Moving north, we find dive sites that are not dived that often
due to the distances involved. However, they are worth noting,
as they will probably be dived more often in the future as the
southern sites become more crowded.
Tower Rock
Located off Northeast Little Torres Island, this island rises
dramatically out of the sea and plunges over 60-meters to the
bottom. Schools of mobula rays are seen here often. It’s
also a good place to spot sharks, but the remarkable landscape
and the chance of seeing ghost pipefish is the more reliable
interest.
There are over eight dive sites we've found in this area now.
West Canister
Located almost 80 nautical miles north of Black Rock, the island
looks almost exactly like Ko Bon in Thailand, just flipped 180¥.
The best site is a pinnacle located almost in the middle of the
small bay, and is almost connected to a ridge that runs from the
westernmost point of the island. On dives we’ve done there,
the top of the rock acts as a cleaning station for manta rays.
It’s a huge granite rock starting about 15-meters and continuing
to over 40-meters. From there, you’ll find a hard coral reef
sloping down to over 60-meters. Large sea fans swathe the granite
boulders, with purple, pink and orange soft corals covering most
of the rock. Barracudas, fusiliers, jacks, Spanish mackerel, and
rainbow runners cruise over the top of the reef. Painted crayfish
hide in the overhangs. Visibility can be well over 30-meters here.
Freak Island
A small island with enough tree cover to keep a pair of sea eagles
happy, it is located about four nautical miles east of West Canister.
The island can easily be swam around in one dive, but here it’s
important to slow down and look carefully, as the smaller marine
life is what you should be enjoying. With usually clear water,
the boulders with sea fans and soft corals make powerful topography,
while the hard corals are healthy and colorful. Anemones and sea
whips dot the terrain, and you’ll see various triggerfish,
stonefish, scorpionfish, and tigertail seahorses.
End Bit
The Mergui Archipelago has something for everyone, and although
the dive sites here can often learn towards the advanced, even
intermediate divers will love the place as long as the dive sites
are picked carefully. As always, consult with the divemaster before
diving to make sure you aren't getting more than you bargained
for. Conditions change constantly due to fluctuating tides and
your dive professional is the best source of current information.
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