The gill rakers of manta rays are used in a traditional Chinese medicine that is thought to detoxify the blood. Because of the rapid increase of this lucrative trade, giant manta rays have become endangered.

Before that we meet spotted eagle rays, Aetobatus narinari, at Black Rock, and a smaller devil ray, the smoothtail mobula, Mobula thurstoni, at Tower Rock in the more northern part of the Mergui Archipelago.

First we look at the most common stingray in the area, the bluespotted stingray, Neotrygon kuhlii, otherwise known as the Kuhl’s stingray, at East of Eden in the Similan Islands and Racha Yai near Phuket in Thailand.

Then we meet the larger Jenkins whipray, Himantura jenkinsii, otherwise known as the sharpnose stingray or pointed-nose stingray, at Beacon Reef in the Similan Islands and in the Mergui Archipelago in Burma (Myanmar).

Finally we encounter the blotched fantail ray, Taeniura meyeni, also known as the black-blotched stingray or marbled stingray, in the Mergui Archipelago. Firstly a small group at Shark Cave, and then a shoal of some 30 stingrays at Black Rock.

The Blue ringed Octopus belongs to the top 10 macro subjects and is always a rare find.

Requiem sharks constitute the family Carcharhinidae in the order Carcharhiniformes. These sharks have sharp teeth. Their fins are popular in the shark finning trade, for use in shark fin soup, and I have witnessed encounters with grey reef sharks, silvertip sharks and whitetip reef sharks declining in the years since I shot this video.

Also delicate macro subjects like pygmy seahorses are featured in this underwater video.

The underwater video footage was filmed by cinematographer Klemens Gann on locations like Moalboal, Negros Island and southern Leyte which are all located in the Philippines.

Klemens Gann our Underwater video cameraman has years of experience filming the rich underwater marine life and our DVD videos reflect his love for the ocean, the underwater habitat and marine life in fantastic underwater scenes.

Whale sharks are sought after for their fins which are used in shark fin soup in Chinese restaurants, or merely used to advertise the availability of shark fin soup. They are therefore vulnerable to fishing pressures and face an uncertain future unless the culture changes.

2 of the most common types of carpet shark in the Andaman Sea are the zebra shark (Stegostoma fasciatum) and tawny nurse shark (Nebrius ferrugineus). Locally in Thailand and Burma, zebra sharks are more commonly known as “leopard sharks”.

Zebra sharks are a common sight at Koh Tachai and Koh Bon, north of the Similan Islands in Thailand. The video also includes footage of them from Koh Bida Nok, near Phi Phi Island, and from Fan Forest Pinnacle in Myanmar’s Mergui Archipelago.

Most of the footage of tawny nurse sharks comes from the Burma Banks, although there is also footage of a rare encounter with sleeping nurse sharks at Koh Bon Pinnacle.

Part 1 of “Reef Life of the Andaman”, an in-depth study of the marine life of Thailand and Burma (Myanmar), filmed over more than 1000 scuba dives beneath the Andaman Sea at 55 dive sites in the Similan Islands, Phuket, the Phi Phi Islands, Hin Daeng/Hin Muang, the Mergui Archipelago and the Burma Banks.

This first episode features a glimpse of the coastal and fishing communities of Thailand and Burma, then we venture underwater to learn about the marine life such as corals, sea anemones and crinoids (feather stars) that colonise the marine landscape.