The study was undertaken at a coral community in Laem Set (N 91 25′ 6.75′′, E 991 59′ 56.26′′, Fig. 1), on the southern part of Samui Island, the Western Gulf of Thailand, in the mass coral bleaching years 1998 and 2010. Samui Island has been recognized as an intensive tourism island for a few decades. The study area included hard substrates and sandy bottom areas between 1 and 6 m of depth, depending on the tide, on the fringing reef of Samui Island. The coral reef width is approximately 150 m and contains a diversity of typical corals and macrobenthic invertebrates of the Gulf of Thailand. Erosion and sedimentation are major problems at Samui Island and indeed in other areas of the Western Gulf of Thailand, partly because of poor land-use practices. A few local fishermen undertake fishing on the reefs; however there is no diving activity at the study site.