Divers remove fishing nets bleaching protected coral reefs

Abandoned fishing nets cover a coral reef in a protected area of Ko Losin, where a group of volunteer divers and the Coastal Resources Research Center, helped by the Royal Thai Navy, removed 2, 750 sq m of them, Ko Losin, Thailand June 19, 2021. Picture taken June 19, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

FORTY divers have removed abandoned fishing nets covering coral reefs in a protected area in the Gulf of Thailand in a two-day operation.

Removal of the nets by a group of volunteer divers and the Coastal Resources Research Centre, helped by the Royal Thai Navy, revealed long lines of coral bleaching inside the protected area around Ko Losin, a small rocky islet in the southern waters of the gulf.