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Mergui Archipelago

January 19, 2024

The Mergui Archipelago (also Myeik Archipelago or Myeik Kyunzu; Burmese: မြိတ်ကျွန်းစု) is located in far southern Myanmar (Burma) and is part of the Tanintharyi Region. It consists of more than 800 islands, varying in size from very small to hundreds of square kilometres, all lying in the Andaman Sea off the western shore of the Malay Peninsula near its landward (northern) end where it joins the rest of Indochina. They are occasionally referred to as the Pashu Islands because the Malay inhabitants are locally called Pashu.

Mergui Archipelago
Village in the Mergui Archipelago
Map of Mergui Archipelago
Geography
Adjacent toAndaman Sea
Demographics
Ethnic groupsMoken • Malay

Environment edit

See also: Lampi Island Marine National Park
 
Port of Myeik

Geologically, the islands are characterized mainly by limestone and granite. They are generally covered with thick tropical growth, including rainforest, and their shorelines are punctuated by beaches, rocky headlands, and in some places, mangrove swamps. Offshore are extensive coral reefs.

The archipelago's virtual isolation from most of mankind's influence on the natural environment has given the islands and the surrounding waters of the Andaman Sea a great diversity of flora and fauna, contributing to the region's growing popularity as a diving destination, representing endangered megafaunas such as whale sharks and dugongs.[1]

The area is also important for migrating cetaceans[2][3] and the "Whale Bay" in the east of Kanmaw Kyun was named historical presences of large number of whales.[4][5] Such variety includes resident population of Bryde's whales, occasional blue whales, longman's beaked whales, strap-toothed whales, and killer whales,[6] dolphins, finless porpoises, and Irrawaddy dolphins.

On the islands themselves, various animals thrive, including deer, monkeys, tropical birds including hornbills, and wild swine. There are even unconfirmed reports of Sumatran rhinoceros on Lanbi, one of the bigger islands, but this has been widely discredited.

 
River on Lanbi Kyun

Environmental threats to the region include overfishing and also blast fishing.

Geography edit

The largest and highest island is Kadan Kyun at 767 metres [7] across the inland channel from Myeik. Other important islands are:

History edit

The archipelago was likely first settled by Malay sailors who arrived from the south. However, it remained largely uninhabited until the 20th century. Malays and Chinese traders used the inner waters to escape the southwest monsoon, while larger ships avoided the complicated maritime geography. Pirates and slavers also used it as a refuge, because it was almost impossible to control. For this reason, the Moken people found refuge here until the modern world intervened. The islands began to be accurately charted only after British occupation in 1824. First, Captain Ross surveyed the outer islands in the late 1820s, followed by Captain Lloyd in the inner islands in the late 1830s. Also at that time, between 1838 and 1840, Dr. Johann W. Helfer explored all aspects of the archipelago on behalf of the East India Company. A transcription of his journal, along with interactive maps showing his routes, is listed below in the external links.

Population edit

The local people are an ethnic minority called the Moken, sometimes known as Sea Gypsies, although this term actually covers several groups in Southeast Asia. They are a sea-dwelling people and they follow a traditional way of life, doing things such as fishing and building boats very much the way they have done for centuries. They can be found living on their traditional boats during the dry season, but usually keep to land in the rainy season. The Moken claim that the islands were detached from the mainland after a great mythological flood.[8]

 
Moken Village

Violence by the military regime in the archipelago edit

The Mergui Archipelago is located in Tanintharyi Region, one of the regions heavily impacted by violence during the Burmese Civil War. Violence in the Mergui archipelago has often targeted civilians including the massacres of fishermen and the entire population of the picturesque Christie Island.[9][10]

Tourism edit

The area was only opened up to foreign tourism in 1997 after negotiations between Myanmar and dive operators from Phuket in Thailand.[11][8] The best diving conditions exist from December to April, with whale sharks and manta rays visiting from February to May. A five-star casino and golf resort, the Andaman Club now operates on Thahtay Kyun.

In popular culture edit

  • In the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball, Ernst Stavro Blofeld demands that NATO pay the international criminal organization SPECTRE a ransom of white flawless diamonds worth £100 million to be deposited in the Mergui Archipelago off the coast of Myanmar.
  • The Mergui Archipelago has appeared in several of W.E. Johns's "Biggles" books: Biggles – Air Commodore (1937), Biggles Delivers the Goods (1946), and Biggles and the Lost Sovereigns (1964).

References edit

  1. ^ Hines E.. Parr L.. Tan T. M. U.. Novak A.. 2016. Interviews about dugongs and community conservation issues in the Myeik Archipelago of Myanmar. The ResearchGate. Retrieved on March 02 2017
  2. ^ Total E&P Myanmar. 2016. (pdf). Retrieved on March 02, 2017
  3. ^ Smith B.D.. Tun M.T.. 2008. A note on the species occurrence, distributional ecology and fisheries interactions of cetaceans in the Mergui (Myeik) Archiopelago, Myanmar. Wildlife Conservation Society. Retrieved on March 02, 2017
  4. ^ Wildlife Conservation Society. 2014. Marine Conservation - Current knowledge and research recommendation (pdf). Retrieved on March 02, 2017
  5. ^ Wongthong P.. True J.. Manopawitr P.. Suwanno W.(photo). 2015. BOBLME-2015-Ecology-36: Situation analysis of the Myeik Archipelago (pdf). The Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem Project. Retrieved on March 02, 2017
  6. ^ Sailing Phuket - Catamaran Charter Thailand (April 2, 2014). Close encounter with wild Orcas in the Mergui Archipelago Myanmar. YouTube.
  7. ^ Bird, Eric (February 25, 2010). Encyclopedia of the World's Coastal Landforms. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 1085. ISBN 9781402086380.
  8. ^ a b Roberts, Sophy (April 19, 2013). "The lost world: Myanmar's Mergui islands". Financial Times. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  9. ^ Parry, Richard Lloyd (June 9, 2008). "Defector tells of Burmese atrocity". The Australian. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  10. ^ Fuller, Thomas (April 26, 2012). "As Myanmar Opens Up, Idyllic Islands Remain Unwelcoming". New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  11. ^ Langfitt, Frank (July 8, 2001). "Excursion to BURMA". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 18, 2016.

External links edit

  • Reading list of books on the Mergui Archipelago and the Moken people
  • Helfer in the Islands - a web-app based on the journal of Dr. Johann W. Helfer in the Mergui Archipelago, 1838-40

12°00′N 98°00′E / 12.000°N 98.000°E / 12.000; 98.000

January 19, 2024
mergui, archipelago, also, myeik, archipelago, myeik, kyunzu, burmese, located, southern, myanmar, burma, part, tanintharyi, region, consists, more, than, islands, varying, size, from, very, small, hundreds, square, kilometres, lying, andaman, western, shore, . The Mergui Archipelago also Myeik Archipelago or Myeik Kyunzu Burmese မ တ က န စ is located in far southern Myanmar Burma and is part of the Tanintharyi Region It consists of more than 800 islands varying in size from very small to hundreds of square kilometres all lying in the Andaman Sea off the western shore of the Malay Peninsula near its landward northern end where it joins the rest of Indochina They are occasionally referred to as the Pashu Islands because the Malay inhabitants are locally called Pashu Mergui ArchipelagoVillage in the Mergui ArchipelagoMap of Mergui ArchipelagoGeographyAdjacent toAndaman SeaDemographicsEthnic groupsMoken Malay Contents 1 Environment 2 Geography 3 History 4 Population 5 Violence by the military regime in the archipelago 6 Tourism 7 In popular culture 8 References 9 External linksEnvironment editSee also Lampi Island Marine National Park nbsp Port of MyeikGeologically the islands are characterized mainly by limestone and granite They are generally covered with thick tropical growth including rainforest and their shorelines are punctuated by beaches rocky headlands and in some places mangrove swamps Offshore are extensive coral reefs The archipelago s virtual isolation from most of mankind s influence on the natural environment has given the islands and the surrounding waters of the Andaman Sea a great diversity of flora and fauna contributing to the region s growing popularity as a diving destination representing endangered megafaunas such as whale sharks and dugongs 1 The area is also important for migrating cetaceans 2 3 and the Whale Bay in the east of Kanmaw Kyun was named historical presences of large number of whales 4 5 Such variety includes resident population of Bryde s whales occasional blue whales longman s beaked whales strap toothed whales and killer whales 6 dolphins finless porpoises and Irrawaddy dolphins On the islands themselves various animals thrive including deer monkeys tropical birds including hornbills and wild swine There are even unconfirmed reports of Sumatran rhinoceros on Lanbi one of the bigger islands but this has been widely discredited nbsp River on Lanbi KyunEnvironmental threats to the region include overfishing and also blast fishing Geography editThe largest and highest island is Kadan Kyun at 767 metres 7 across the inland channel from Myeik Other important islands are Auriol Island Bentinck Kyun Christie Island the southernmost island of the group Daung Kyun Kabosa Island Kadan Kyun Kanmaw Kyun Lamin Island Lanbi Kyun Letsok aw Kyun Mali Kyun the northernmost island of the group Money Island Sabi Island Saganthit Kyun Tenasserim Island Thahtay Kyun Than Kyun Thayawthadangyi ZadetkyiHistory editThe archipelago was likely first settled by Malay sailors who arrived from the south However it remained largely uninhabited until the 20th century Malays and Chinese traders used the inner waters to escape the southwest monsoon while larger ships avoided the complicated maritime geography Pirates and slavers also used it as a refuge because it was almost impossible to control For this reason the Moken people found refuge here until the modern world intervened The islands began to be accurately charted only after British occupation in 1824 First Captain Ross surveyed the outer islands in the late 1820s followed by Captain Lloyd in the inner islands in the late 1830s Also at that time between 1838 and 1840 Dr Johann W Helfer explored all aspects of the archipelago on behalf of the East India Company A transcription of his journal along with interactive maps showing his routes is listed below in the external links Population editThe local people are an ethnic minority called the Moken sometimes known as Sea Gypsies although this term actually covers several groups in Southeast Asia They are a sea dwelling people and they follow a traditional way of life doing things such as fishing and building boats very much the way they have done for centuries They can be found living on their traditional boats during the dry season but usually keep to land in the rainy season The Moken claim that the islands were detached from the mainland after a great mythological flood 8 nbsp Moken VillageViolence by the military regime in the archipelago editThe Mergui Archipelago is located in Tanintharyi Region one of the regions heavily impacted by violence during the Burmese Civil War Violence in the Mergui archipelago has often targeted civilians including the massacres of fishermen and the entire population of the picturesque Christie Island 9 10 Tourism editThe area was only opened up to foreign tourism in 1997 after negotiations between Myanmar and dive operators from Phuket in Thailand 11 8 The best diving conditions exist from December to April with whale sharks and manta rays visiting from February to May A five star casino and golf resort the Andaman Club now operates on Thahtay Kyun In popular culture editIn the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball Ernst Stavro Blofeld demands that NATO pay the international criminal organization SPECTRE a ransom of white flawless diamonds worth 100 million to be deposited in the Mergui Archipelago off the coast of Myanmar The Mergui Archipelago has appeared in several of W E Johns s Biggles books Biggles Air Commodore 1937 Biggles Delivers the Goods 1946 and Biggles and the Lost Sovereigns 1964 References edit Hines E Parr L Tan T M U Novak A 2016 Interviews about dugongs and community conservation issues in the Myeik Archipelago of Myanmar The ResearchGate Retrieved on March 02 2017 Total E amp P Myanmar 2016 TOTAL EP MYANMAR YWB 2D SEISMIC SURVEY Marine Mammal Observation MMO Reports pdf Retrieved on March 02 2017 Smith B D Tun M T 2008 A note on the species occurrence distributional ecology and fisheries interactions of cetaceans in the Mergui Myeik Archiopelago Myanmar Wildlife Conservation Society Retrieved on March 02 2017 Wildlife Conservation Society 2014 Marine Conservation Current knowledge and research recommendation pdf Retrieved on March 02 2017 Wongthong P True J Manopawitr P Suwanno W photo 2015 BOBLME 2015 Ecology 36 Situation analysis of the Myeik Archipelago pdf The Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem Project Retrieved on March 02 2017 Sailing Phuket Catamaran Charter Thailand April 2 2014 Close encounter with wild Orcas in the Mergui Archipelago Myanmar YouTube Bird Eric February 25 2010 Encyclopedia of the World s Coastal Landforms Springer Science amp Business Media p 1085 ISBN 9781402086380 a b Roberts Sophy April 19 2013 The lost world Myanmar s Mergui islands Financial Times Retrieved February 18 2016 Parry Richard Lloyd June 9 2008 Defector tells of Burmese atrocity The Australian Retrieved February 18 2016 Fuller Thomas April 26 2012 As Myanmar Opens Up Idyllic Islands Remain Unwelcoming New York Times Retrieved February 18 2016 Langfitt Frank July 8 2001 Excursion to BURMA Baltimore Sun Retrieved February 18 2016 External links editReading list of books on the Mergui Archipelago and the Moken people Helfer in the Islands a web app based on the journal of Dr Johann W Helfer in the Mergui Archipelago 1838 40 12 00 N 98 00 E 12 000 N 98 000 E 12 000 98 000 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mergui Archipelago amp oldid 1171525847, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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