Maya Bay, the cliff-ringed cove on Ko Phi Phi Le in Krabi, has just logged its highest shark count on record. Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) says its survey team counted 451 blacktip reef sharks in the bay on the morning of 3 November 2026, the most since monitoring began in 2023.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchart Chomklin announced the figure on 12 November, and the Government Public Relations Department published the statement on 13 November. He said the result shows that closing sensitive areas and organising tourism can let nature recover, and asked visitors not to disturb marine life.
How the sharks were counted
The fieldwork ran from 3 to 9 November in Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, Krabi. Staff from the DNP's 3rd Marine National Park Study and Research Centre in Trang worked with cooperative-education students from Prince of Songkla University's Faculty of Natural Resources. They flew 15 drone surveys, made 22 deployments of baited remote underwater video systems, cameras that record which fish come to a bait, and took 22 sets of water samples.
Sharks were most numerous at first light, averaging about 329 in the early-morning counts. Sub-adult and adult sharks longer than one metre schooled close to the beach and cliffs on the right-hand side of the bay, which the researchers think may be linked to breeding. Three to five newborn and juvenile sharks under a metre long were seen in shallow water on the opposite side, evidence that the bay is still working as a nursery.
Water temperature averaged 30.87C, with salinity of 31.16 parts per thousand and a pH of 8.62, which the department says is within the right range for marine life. The ministry has told the DNP to keep monitoring the population and to use the data when setting management rules for marine parks.
If you are planning a Phi Phi trip
Maya Bay reopened to visitors on 1 October, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). TAT also notes that six Andaman marine national parks, Phi Phi among them, have sold entry by electronic ticket since October 2025, so buy yours before you travel and keep your passport to hand. Once you are there, the request from the ministry is simple: watch the sharks, give them space and leave the bay as you found it.