Do Not Feed the Fish

One of the most popular trips in Thailand is to visit a local coral reef, whether you intend to scuba dive or Snorkeler or simply swim in the beautiful crystal clear warm waters of Thailand.

For many years now tourism has blossomed in Thailand, up and down the country people come to see the delights of this truly inspiring country. There is so much to do and see one can never be bored even for a single second here.

The beaches and locals reefs are an excellent opportunity to see and marvel at the underwater world, the fish here are so vibrant: wonderfully coloured wrasses, dazzling Parrotfish, nosey Damselfishes even Nemo can be found hiding out in the shallows sometimes.

The list goes on and on and no trip to Thailand would be really complete until you have peaked into the underwater world at least once during a Snorkeling Trip.

That said, we must warn people that down there these are still wild animals of the sea and should be treated as such, keep your hands and fingers to yourself and please watch where you put your feet.

The coral reefs of Thailand, and the world, are a very delicate eco system and easily broken; respect it, marvel at it and please never take any souvenirs home from the reef.

Also please Do Not Feed the Fish as this is a practice that has been going on for many years. Throwing bread and fruit for the fish may seem like harmless fun, the fish really love it, however, there are more damaging reports of late that contradict this is also good for the fish.

A recent report has claimed that feeding the sea life with small bits of food could, in fact, have dire consequences for the reef, not just now and definitely in the future. Fish feeding has some serious negative effects on the reef and we all must play our part to protect the fish and the reefs from anything not natural to them.

It should be known that every living thing on the reef plays a specific part in keeping the eco-system intact and functioning. Nowhere underwater will you find a fish bakery or fruit shop, this is not Finding Nemo.

There is a very delicate balance on coral reefs and even the slightest temperature change, light or disruption in food can have disastrous results for all of those critters living there.

Feeding fish food that is not natural to them, even though they gobble it up with relish, is not only bad for the fish but the reef in general.

Most of the fish that will greet you upon entry in to the water, normally feed on algae, are graze feeders that actually clear the coral allowing it to flourish and grow.

Feeding the fish means that they don’t eat their own food, preferring the easy meal people give them to the algae, allowing the algae to bloom and destroy the coral around it starving it of oxygen and light.

You can actually see these effects on some of the reefs here in Thailand.

As normally the fish will keep the algae in check which allows for the corals to grow, however as there is so much unnatural food going into the water, IE: fruit and bread, the fish are simply not eating the algae.

Recently the laws have changed and anyone dropping litter into the sea, fish-feeding taking coral souvenirs or even damaging the coral in anyway can face quite hefty fines and even imprisonment; this law is long overdue and shows that Thailand is really at the forefront of eco-tourism.

Related articles about Fish Feeding

• Killing Phuket’s reefs one slice of bread at a time