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Sea Gypsies Divemasters in the Andaman Sea

By Frederick Claro CD#18819.


    Once more, Southern Thailand has been the theatre of an interesting project due to the combined efforts of the Thai Fishery Department, the European Union and realized on the field by the dynamic team of PIDC Divers,  a well known NAUI Pro Dive Centre in Phuket, Thailand. Thailand’s most important source of income is  from its agro-alimentary industry, which is still today employing 60 % of the active population. The country is producing 3 million tons of fishing products per year, 90 % marine products. To condition for exportation this tremendous amount of ocean products, Thailand developed its biggest industry today : food processing, which is mainly dealing with canned and frozen shrimps, prawns and tunas. In 1995, Thailand exported 325,000 tons of canned tuna, making the country the first exporter of canned tuna worldwide, with 50 % of its exports towards the USA (source : Bangkok Post annual economic review 1996).
    To satisfy such a huge industry, an important segment of the working force nationwide, specially in the South, orientated itself towards the trade of the ocean. Although today  the main production comes from farming, which is creating other environmental problems, still a fair amount of the southern Thai population is involved in the day by day hard work of fishing. As everywhere in the world, modern days brought an evolution in the  activities and traditional fishing is gradually being replaced by industrial techniques.
    Still, a small percentage of the population is using traditional methods - one boat, two men, one net to provide food and income to their families. Among these populations are the original natives of the coastline of peninsular Malaysia (Peninsular Malaya), the ones who have been occupying and farming the ocean for centuries, refining fishing techniques to a supreme art of skill and knowledge of the ocean. This congregation of people, who live a tribal life are known here as the “Chaoley”, or Sea Gypsies. Their population extends from Burma down to Malaysia, but Thailand is home to the major groups around Ranong, Phuket, Trang and Satun, near the Malaysian border. 
    As for trade, the Chaoley have been involved locally in the fishing industry and their tribute to exportation comes from harvesting live products from the bottom of the Andaman Sea. Snappers, groupers and jacks are collected in fish traps which are traditionally made and deposited on the sea bed. The Chaoley are working day long in inspecting, harvesting and collecting this live stock using the ancient art of surface supplied diving, involving a simple mask, a long hose connected to an in board compressor, a long-sleeved sweat shirt and a pair of long tracksuit pants...So equipped, they dive long hours, constantly challenging the laws of physics and physiology as a 120 feet (36m) dive for 90 minutes, an ascent rate of 80 feet (25m) per minute with no-decompression stops is not unusual. Their technique, skills, fast moving underwater and extraordinary capacity of adaptation to environment  conditions inspired J.Y. Cousteau in his 1988 movie “The Sea Convicts”, made on location around Phuket, Similan and Surin Island (where a large community of Chaoley was residing, they have been relocated since as the region became a national park). The Similan Islands have since become a National Park under the auspices of His Majesty the King of Thailand and are considered to be named as UNESCO World Heritage. 

    A similar project is undergoing in the southern province of Satun, where some beautiful Islands off Koh Tarutao : Koh Adang archipelago, are meant to become an other National Park in the next few years. These pristine islands are also home of the native Chaoley and the Thai government through its southern fishery department  with the advisors of the European Union is preparing for the future . Steps have been taken to relocate the Sea Gypsy community on Koh Lipee, to free the Koh Adang area. Steps have also been taken in involving the Chaoley community in other activities than local fishing to preserve the ecosystem of these islands : a pearl farm has been set and a selection of the 15 most valuable divers of this community was selected to be trained as responsible divers in order to guide the recreational divers who are willing to dive in their province.
        In mid 1998, PIDC Divers of Phuket has been contacted to send their boat the M.V. Andaman Seafarer (our picture) down to Koh Adang for the first training of the happily selected candidates. All went well and they became certified in November 1998. Following this first input in a life time change, 7 candidates among the trained divers were selected to train further as NAUI rescue divers, NAUI/ASHI Medic First Aid-CPR and Oxygen providers and finally NAUI Divemasters.
        The training resumed in early August 1999, in Phuket, where Mr. Paolo Montaldi, head of the project, Mr. Wirot Kongasa, a marine biologist working at the Phuket Fishery Dept., and 6 Chaoleys were successfully trained up to NAUI Divemaster on board of the M.V. Andaman Seafarer. 

    As the training director of the final phase, I have to say that was one of the most interesting teaching and human experience of my life as the courses were run in English with the translation and outstanding input of Mr Sammy Songserm, one of our ITC graduates in Phuket, without whom the training would have been impossible. A team of 6 NAUI Instructors in turn, made this experience and adventure possible and one more time, the team work put together by NAUI members paid off and we trained an other team of NAUI members, which is going to operate in the deep south of Thailand for the well-being of the recreational diving community. Furthermore we lectured specifically on the potential hazards of decompression sickness and brought our new Chaoley friends to a level of proficiency in NAUI dive tables usage, which will be  profitable in their diving activities planning, but also we hope, to the whole Sea Gypsy community as they will train them in the prevention of DCS, which is too often occurring among this active commercial diving population.
    This project is one among others planned by the Thai authorities who are aware of the necessity to rehabilitate local populations in order to preserve the environment and save it for future generations, we know that this program was among a long series of educational projects to bring the Thai people well into the new millennium. We all have been proud to bring our input and knowledge to this program ; we  believe that education is the key to solving most of the problems and misunderstandings worldwide and  we  proved one more time that NAUI members will be the task force of the recreational diving industry once education is concerned.



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