Giant Clam Culture in Semporna To Help Conserve Marine Heritage

SEMPORNA -- The Giant Clam Culture Centre on Buhey Dulang Island plays a vital role in conserving the marine ecosystem at the Tun Sakaran Marine Park off the coast of Semporna, Sabah.

The centre, the first of its kind under Sabah Parks, conducts research and cultures giant clams with seeds supplied to the local community to help them reduce their over-reliance on natural marine resources.

The centre, established in 2006 under the Semporna Islands Darwin Project, is the result of cooperation between Sabah Parks and the Marine Conservation Society-United Kingdom.

Sabah Parks' Marine Research Officer Nasrulhakim Maidin noted that the culture centre serves as an attraction where outsiders can learn more about the clams.

"Giant clam culture is important because their numbers have depleted from over-harvesting around the waters of Semporna," he told Bernama during a visit to Buhey Dulang Island of the coast of Semporna.

The giant clam is a mollusc in the Bivalvia class that thrives in Indo-Pacific waters.

There are seven species of giant clams in Malaysian Waters, and some can grow up to 60cm in length.

According to Nasrul, giant clams not only thrive on plankton but also produce their own nutrients through photosynthesis, with the help of the algae.

"The giant clam plays an important role in the marine ecosystem as it filters the water," he said.

SEEDING THE CLAMS

So how to culture the giant clams? First, the giant clam brood stock is selected and its size is recorded for future reference.

Then the clam shell is cleaned with a nylon brush and numbered for future reference. The seeding is done by injecting diluted serotonin, a hormone, to stimulate spawning.

Within minutes, the giant clam stock reacts and produces eggs and sperm that are collected in big plastic bags to fertilize in a few days.

Six months after hatching, the seed is released into the sea within the reef area, initially in cages to protect them from predators.

The seeds that hatch at the centre are mostly relocated near Ribbon Reef, an area within the national park allocated for education on marine life.

Continue reading at: Giant Clam Culture in Semporna To Help Conserve Marine Heritage

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Sipadan dive operators’ painful sacrifice pays off

SEMPORNA: “Moving out from Sipadan Island was a painful sacrifice. We not only lost millions of Ringgit but lost many of our customers as well,” said Borneo Divers managing director Clement Lee.

This was his spontaneous response when asked on his feeling after Clement and other dive resort operators were asked to vacate Sipadan Island in 2004, after occupying the island for about 10 years.

The directive from the state government came about after the marine environment and underwater habitat of the 12-hectare Sipadan Island National Park was adversely affected by human activities.

Construction of physical infrastructure such as resorts and other facilities to meet the increasing demand from divers all over the world at the end endangered the fragile marine ecosystem around the park.

The most apparent decline was the number of marine species, which were abundant around the island when the place was first explored by Borneo Divers in 1993.

However, Clement who pioneered the diving industry in Sipadan Island in 1994 and other dive operators have no regret over their decision to cooperate with the authorities for the sake of preserving Sipadan Island for the future generation.

“So we left, thinking that we were doing the right thing and investing in our future,” said Clement adding had they continued their stay on Sipadan the destruction there could have been worse. After vacating the island, they continued with diving activities there but kept strict to the regulations introduced by the government including limiting the number of divers to the park to 120 compared with the unlimited numbers previously.

After moving out, Clement opened a dive resort on 2.6 hectares of land in Mabul Island, located about 15 minutes away from Sipadan by speed boat.

Clement and other dive operators’ sacrifice had significantly changed Sipadan as researches found that the marine life there has regenerated fast and the underwater environment had improved tremendously.

“Absolutely after seven years, now the marine life there has improved. What I had personally seen before, I see it now. I can compare the past and present. I have seen the good sign for sure,” said Clement based on his and his diving friends’ observation on Sipadan now.

Continue reading at: Sipadan dive operators’ painful sacrifice pays off
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Sabah Parks Improving Conservation Of Marine Park Corals

SEMPORNA -- Sabah Parks is stepping up efforts to conserve marine parks in the state through dissemination of coral identification skills among its workers involved in field work.

Its marine research officer, Nasrulhakim Maidin, said skills in identifying corals were important and if they could be carried out in a short period, it would help in the collection of data.

He said the dissemination of coral identification skills among workers could be carried out at workshops and fields, using more efficient equipment.

"As many of those deployed as field workers are part-timers, they are the main focus of marine park conservation efforts," he told Bernama here Wednesday.

Nasrulhakim was speaking at a five-day coral-identification seminar which began on Monday.

Continue reading at: Sabah Parks Improving Conservation Of Marine Park Corals

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Tun Sakaran Marine Park to have more diving spots

SEMPORNA: The Tun Sakaran Marine Park (TSMP) here will be used as a springboard to encourage eco-tourism when over 50 areas boasting of attractive corals and marine life are transformed into diving spots.

Sabah Parks director Paul Basintal said 56 spots were identified in the vicinity of the 35,000-hectare park which was gazetted a marine park in 2005.

Currently, he said, two areas near Pulau Mantabuan and Pulau Sibuan were open to tour operators to lure divers in limited numbers.

“The other diving areas would be open in stages to enable close monitoring, especially by limiting the number of divers at one time,” he told Bernama after opening a Coral Identification Workshop in Pulau Buheydulang near here yesterday.

There are eight islands in the marine park, namely Boheydulang, Tatagan, Mantabuan, Bodgaya, Maiga, Sibuan, Selakan and Sebangkat.

Continue reading at: Tun Sakaran Marine Park to have more diving spots

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Bukit Tengkorak Archeological Site Needs Added Value As Tourism Product

SEMPORNA - Bukit Tengkorak Archeological Heritage Site should be given added value to make it an attractive tourism product to tourists.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said efforts should be undertaken to attract more tourists to visit the archeological site and museum costing RM4.2mil.

"This product has so much potential. Visitors who come here and explore places while waiting for transport to the resort islands," she told reporters after climbing the 152 metre high archeological site recently.

Dr Ng suggested that a tourist guide with archeological expertise be staioned at Bukit Tengkorak to brief tourists on the archeological site.

This is necessary as without a specialist tourist guide, it is difficult to promote it as an atractive archeological tourism product.

Bukit Tengkorak has been identified as one of Southeast Asia's largest pottery making site in the Neolithic period about 3,000 years ago.

Researchers from Universiti Sains Malaysia's (USM) Center for Archaeological Research with collaboration of Sabah Museum Department had done scientific and systematic research at Bukit Tengkorak since 1994.

They found thousands of prehistoric pottery fragments and studies showed that the methods used are still being practised in Semporna to this day.

Continue reading at: Bukit Tengkorak Archeological Site Needs Added Value As Tourism Product

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Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort Waste Management System To Become Case Study

SEMPORNA -- The Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort's waste management practice will be made a case study by the Ministry of Tourism as part of efforts to preserve and conserve the beauty and natural environment of islands marked as tourist destinations in the country.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said the case study was important since it could be made as a guideline before the ministry comes out with a certain policy on good waste management practice for island resorts and hotels.

"We will be looking at this (waste management in Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort) as a case study to see how the ministry can look at a policy to implement such a system.

"It is not an overnight study but definitely we need the advice of consultants," she told reporters after visiting to the resort recently where she was briefed on the resort's waste management practice.

Dr Ng was convinced that the waste management system in the Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort could be practiced by other resorts as it was not so complicated but involved more mechanical aspects.

"Now I am here in a small resort with 120 capacity that can deliver. If they can deliver other resorts can deliver too," she added.

Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort is one of five dive resorts operating in the Mabul Island, about 40 minutes from the mainland of Semporna and about 15 minutes from Sipadan Island.

Another dive operator in the island, Borneo Divers Sabah, a resort with a 60 max capacity also practices an environment friendly waste management which followed the Environment Impact Assessment guidelines.

Continue reading at: Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort Waste Management System To Become Case Study
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Divers plant 777 corals at Tun Sakaran Marine Park, Semporna

SEMPORNA: Fifty divers, including international participants, took part in a coral planting event in Sabah's east coast district.

Held under Astro Kasih's Beautiful Malaysia programme, the divers, who also comprised 25 Astro Kasih staff members, planted 777 individual corals at Ribbon Reef in Tun Sakaran Marine Park near Bohey Dulang Island, about an hour's boat ride from here.

The feat earned them a place in the Malaysia Book of Records after their effort eclipsed the last record of 501 individual corals planted last year.

“It is very significant because plenty of coral reefs have died,” Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said.

She added that the feat would help highlight the state and Malaysia's tourism sites, especially after several sites were hit by coral bleaching last year.

Dr Ng also said talks were under way to have direct flights from two eastern Russian cities to Kota Kinabalu by year-end.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Divers plant 777 corals at Tun Sakaran Marine Park, Semporna

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Sabah, a Water Wonderland

Shame on me. My mobile phone has already buzzed with a text from Dean Alston (my phone often buzzes in the night, when I am away, with dire and humorous warnings from our cartoonist of the fates that may befall me in foreign climes).

I wasn't asleep this time. I was lying in a room big enough to host a table-tennis tournament, on stilts over the ocean off the north-east coast of Sabah. With all the windows open, rejoicing in the lack of insects out here, I was listening to the fans whir in the warm night, and the water lap around the piles, the cries of the heron, and a more distant one of a baby in another room, and outbreak of singsong Asian voices and the odd explosion of fish-frenzy in the water. One of the staff passed quietly along the jetty on a bicycle - like running a finger along a note-less piano keyboard.

It is a languid, still night, with barely a breath of movement in the air, and I have dined on rice and salad and supped a Tiger beer at the Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort's big restaurant. Out here, 100m along a wooden boardwalk, sort-of at sea, surrounded by reef and dive sites. Happy and relaxed.

But, shame on me, I reply to Alston (trust me, one should never reply to Alston's texts - it's asking for trouble), and with my brain now ticking over, I start to list all the things I need to do in the morning. And my brain starts composing emails. Shame on me. I give up, get up, get the laptop out and sit outside on the back deck, in the night, tapping those emails up and into the drafts box, wearing the head torch so I can see the keys to type.

Well, I start to.

But the night takes over. The deck is about 4m above the gently lapping water, and big - 7mx4m. It is slatted and there are lights underneath, so I can see the water between each slat, and the floor of the ocean under the shallow water.

A pipefish the size of my leg cruises past, with three more, slightly smaller, in tow behind. I look over the rail and the floor is dotted with starfish.

A parrot fish. A small stingray. Myriad clouds of tiny but colourful reef fish.

It is the sort of night you want to relish. You don't want to go to sleep.

All around me, the other over-water suites are quiet, and I just lie out here on the deck, watching the fish, feeling the night, letting the stillness soak into me.

Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort is a 45-minute boat trip from Semporna, which is 70-odd kilometres, or an hour and a half in a minibus, from Tawau, on the east coast of the Malaysian State of Sabah, on the northern end of Borneo. Tawau is an 80-minute flight from Kota Kinabalu, which is five hours and 45 minutes direct with Malaysia Airlines from Perth.

So, now we know where we are.

But where are we?

Well, we are in one of the world's most respected dive areas, and that is what most people on Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort are here for. The area is widely considered one of the world's top five dive destinations, with myriad fish, turtles, shallow corals and a 700m drop into the Celebes Sea.

Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort lists 28 close-by dive sites, from blue spotted garden to sweet-tips table, twin peak to coral garden. All can be reached in a few minutes by boat. Diving around Kapalai is shallow and easy.

There's macro, small-fish and reef life around Kapalai, big fish and turtles at nearby Sipadan and muddy bottoms at Mabul.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Sabah, a Water Wonderland
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1,000 turtle hatchlings released at Mabul Island

KOTA KINABALU: Scuba Junkie, a dive operator inclined towards the preservation of turtles at Mabul Island off Semporna has released more than 1,000 turtle hatchlings since it began the turtle hatchling project a year ago.

Company director Richard Owen told press members during a conference held in conjunction with the Mabul Marine Week (MMW) 2011 that this was the first ever recorded data collected of the turtle hatchlings released to the sea on the island.

Owen, who is also a marine biologist by profession, said the company had established a 20 feet by 26 feet hatchery on the island and that this could accommodate up to eight turtle nests at any one time.

Turtle eggs take about 60 days to hatch and so far, they have noticed between four and five turtles laying eggs at the Mabul beach every month.

Unfortunately, a lot of the eggs are lost as the island inhabitants do not inform the operator of their find, he said.

The existence of more than one village at the island also exacerbates the problem, he said.
To counter the problem, Scuba Junkie has decided to enlist the island inhabitants to help them care for the turtles and their eggs.

“We hope that by involving them and providing them with incentives, we’d be able to increase the number of eggs that end up at the hatchery and return to the sea,” he said.

The MMW 2011 will be held between Sept 24 and Sept 29, this year.

Scuba Junkie, as this year’s organiser, has lined up an array of conservation projects such as beach cleanup, reef cleanup dive, education awareness with school children and many more.

Continue reading at: 1,000 turtle hatchlings released at Mabul Island
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Sabah's Danawan Island is home to sea gypsies

Even a short visit to this island in east Sabah will leave a lasting impression.



DANAWAN is one of the bigger islands in the 9,300ha Semporna Marine Park in east Sabah, but it is not as well-known as neighbouring Sipadan or Mabul. Although located along the Ligitan reef complex which offers some of the best dive sites in the world, Danawan is not a tourist draw like those other islands.



There are no resorts or beachside chalets on this 0.63sqkm island in the Celebes Sea and no tour or boat companies to rely on for scheduled itineraries. If you’re lucky, you might catch the three-hour ride back with one of the island residents who come to the mainland for supplies or to trade. Your return passage is another story.



The Star’s assistant chief photographer Raja Faisal Hishan recently spent a few hours on Danawan as a guest of the Malaysian Armed Forces, along with other members of the media, when Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi visited its joint forces command base there.



The military set up camp on the island after the hostage crisis in 2000 when the militant group Abu Sayyaf kidnapped 21 people from a resort in Sipadan.



Danawan, also called Denawan (but not to be confused with Dinawan, a private island with a resort in the South China Sea off Kota Kinabalu in west Sabah), has about 1,400 residents, most of whom are Bajau, or sea gypsies. Their homes are built on stilts by the water’s edge but a few still live in their traditional boats called lipa-lipa.



Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Sabah's Danawan Island is home to sea gypsies

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Bajau Laut: Gypsies of the sea

I’m in the southeastern Borneo town of Semporna, the gateway to the paradise islands of Sipadan, Mabul and many others, all of which are great diving spots.

But I’m not here to swim in the crystal clear ocean.

I’m here to visit the Bajau Laut settlement built on stilts over the Celebes Sea.

Originally hailing from the southern Philippines, these seafaring gypsies have migrated south over the last few decades to the Malaysian state of Sabah and onto islands in Indonesia.

They make up around 13 percent of the total population in Sabah, and their numbers around the world are currently estimated at 400,000.

While their nomadic lifestyle has been curtailed, the Bajau Laut still choose to build homes over the water on stilts.

The stilt village I visit is a melting pot of migrants from other parts of Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. I even came across a little girl from North Korea, whose family had escaped via China and finally settled here.

On the shores off Semporna, the first stilt homes are well designed and have all the usual modern conveniences.

I strike up a conversation in broken English with a retired Malaysian army officer and he invites me into his home for a quick peek.

Aside from the beautiful ocean view on three sides, the home was decorated like any other Malaysian home.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Bajau Laut: Gypsies of the sea
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Whale rescued at Mabul Island

SEMPORNA: A group of rescuers were overcome with joy when a whale that was found trapped on the coral reef at Mabul island was successfully rescued and released into the blue ocean, but not before resurfacing twice as if to thank her rescuers.

The event took place at 9am when the whale, measuring three and a half metres long, was spotted.

Resort manager Carys Fox of Scuba Junkie Mabul Beach Resort, who led the whale rescue said: “It was like the whale knew that we were trying to save her.

“She was flapping around in distress in the shallow water but when we arrived she calmed down and let us put the life jackets around her as buoyancy and carried toward deeper water.”

Resort staff, visiting tourists and the local community from Mabul worked together and took only 25 minutes to free the whale.

Scuba Junkie marine biologist Ric Owen said the whale suffered cuts but they were all superficial and should heal quickly.

However, he could not exactly identify the species and they are currently waiting for confirmation from whale experts.

Divers are suggesting that it may either be a pilot whale or the rare pygmy sperm whale.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Whale rescued at Mabul Island
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Semporna Regatta Lepa Festival Elevates Bajau Culture

SEMPORNA -- The Regatta Lepa Festival which enters its 18th year this year will be able to raise the Bajau culture and heritage to a higher level, said Minister in the Sabah Chief Minister's Office Datuk Sri Nasir Tun Sakaran.

He said the Regatta Lepa Festival which showcased characteristics of the Bajau culture not only had high esthetic values, but was also marked in the national tourism calender as an annual tourism event.

"Continuous publicity by the government through the federal and state tourism ministry, as well as the private sector, has raised the festival's popularity to a reputable level," he said during the launch of the 18th Regatta Lepa Festival by Sabah Yang Dipertua Negeri, Tun Juhar Mahiruddin, yesterday.

For example, Nasir said dance performances, traditional costume fashion shows and traditional Bajau delicacies not only helped to preserve the culture of the community, but also introduce the culture to other communities.

Continue reading at: Semporna Regatta Lepa Festival Elevates Bajau Culture
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Sabah Tourism: 18th Regatta Lepa, Semporna

Date: 22 - 24 April 2011

Semporna comes to life with the Bajau seafarers unique Regatta Lepa where a competition of the most beautiful traditional sailboats is held. Witness telematches such as the boat-tug-war, kayak race and boat race. The town of Semporna is also home to fresh seafood and the gateway to the world's best dive sites.

Further Information

Organiser : District Office of Semporna
Contact Person : Mr. A.M Ibnu Hj. A.K Baba (District Officer)
Telephone : +60 89 781518
Fax : +60 89 781472 / +60 88 265540
Email Contact : AMIbnu.Baba@sabah.gov.my
Event Website : http://regattalepa.sabahtourism.com

Source: Sabah Tourism

NOTE: Photo Copyright to Sabah Tourism
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Bukit Tengkorak, Semporna - Sabah's New Tourist Attraction

The development of the Bukit Tengkorak Archaeological Site Museum in Semporna has recently been completed.

According to Datuk Pounis Guntavid, Sabah Museum Department Director, the museum has been filled with artifacts which were found in the surrounding area over 3,000 years ago.

This volcanic rock cave located 500 feet above sea level is an important archaeological site in Malaysia that has high prehistoric value.

The preservation of this historical site is part of the National Heritage Department's RM4.2 million project which aims to boost the local tourism industry.

Other areas of interest to the Department include Mansuli in Lahad Datu and Tingkayu in Kunak.

Source: Sabah Tourism

NOTE: Photo Copyright to Semporna District Office, Sabah
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Picture perfect day with Sea Gypsies in Semporna

Bajau children playing in a boat

Coral and sea creatures can be seen through the crystal clear waters

Tall coconut trees provide shade from the bright sunlight

Diving homestay where we stayed at Mabul Island

Bajau family relaxing during sunset on Maiga Island

Photos courtesy of and Copyright to Azrol Azmi and Brunei Press Sdn Bhd.

By Azrol Azmi

If you are planning an island resort getaway this coming school holidays in March, look no further than Semporna and its surrounding islands, which offer stunning white sandy beaches and picturesque views.

Imagine crystal clear waters, long stretches of white sandy beaches, cool breeze blowing from the sea and tall coconut trees providing shade from the bright tropical sun as you unwind on one of the islands.

Semporna, a town located in Tawau division on Sabah's east coast, is inhabited mainly by ethnic Bajau Laut, also known as Sea Gypsies, many of whom live in sprawling stilt villages above the water or in traditional Lepa boats.

Semporna is a gateway to the some of the best dive sites in the world which are situated about an hour's boat ride away.

Among the islands that can be visited are Mabul, Kapalai and of course, Sipadan surrounded by the Sulawesi Sea which needs no introduction to avid divers from around the world.

There are other islands with equally fascinating dive sites. Tourism Malaysia is working hard to promote the lesser-known but equally beautiful dive sites in Sabah such as Si Amil, Mantabuan, Sibuan and Bohey Dulang.

As many as 101 dive spots have been identified by a team of divers who hope to bring greater attention to Sabah's other dive site jewels. These sites are listed in the Sabah 101 Dive Treasures brochure.

I recently went on a photo expedition with a group of friends with the same interest to capture the beautiful scenery at some of these islands.

We started our journey driving from Brunei Darussalam to Kota Kinabalu before catching a flight from Kota Kinabalu International Airport to Tawau Airport, (which is the nearest airport to Semporna) before proceeding on an hour's drive to Semporna town in a tour bus. Enquiries at the airport revealed that public buses and taxis are available to transport people from Tawau to Semporna at a reasonable fee.

In Semporna, we made our way to the public jetty where our friend from Tawau, Muslianshah, who oversaw our stay during our photo expedition, awaited with a boat ready to take us to our first island, Maiga.

We made a quick stop at Bohey Dulang island to take a closer look at the Bajau or Sea Gypsies. We learnt that the Bajau community made their living from fishing and farming seaweed which they sell in Semporna.

Maiga is not well-equipped to receive tourists as the island does not have the basic amenities of running water and electricity. We were told that we would be "camping out" but we actually slept in a makeshift hall built by the Bajau.

We visited other islands before finally staying in Scubajeff-Sipadan diving homestay at Mabul Island, which is one of the more popular islands among diving tourists and beachcombers.

Mabul is well-equipped to receive tourists and even has a resort as well as several diving homestays to cater for "budget" divers.

Mabul is situated just 25 minutes from Sipadan. Running water and electricity are available on Mabul and a few shops selling everyday items can be seen in a small village populated by the Bajau.

More photos can be seen at www.flickr.com/photos/azrolazmi and look for Semporna set.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin Weekend
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Semporna Islands Darwin Project's Coral Seas Roadshow

A three-week Coral Seas Roadshow in Semporna and here reached 4,000 primary pupils and adults on the importance of conserving coral reefs, said its organisers.

Audiences changed their "fear" of sharks to "admiration" when they discovered that falling coconuts have killed more people than shark attacks, the organisers claimed, in a statement.

UK-based Marine Conservation Society and the Sabah Parks conducted the outreach and awareness programme through the Semporna Islands Darwin Project (SIDP).

The roadshow team used inflatable live-size models of turtles, dolphins, sharks and humphead wrasse to highlight how humans have threatened these species and what they can do to protect them. In an interactive fashion, team members asked participants what they felt were the biggest environmental issues in their area.

Indiscriminate disposal of rubbish, especially plastic bags, was unanimously voted a very serious threat, according to the statement.

But unless and until "all work together," there is little hope of preventing the teeming reefs, world famous islands and beaches of Semporna from being "completely spoilt," teacher Datu Mustapha bin Datu A from the Humana "Lil-Babs Learning Centre" in Pulau Bum-Bum, was quoted as saying.

Mustapha argued that flooding the younger generation with insight why protecting the environment is a "must" and the adverse consequences of destructive human actions, is "vital."

The audiences learnt first hand how quickly they can turn a healthy coral reef filled with fish to a desolate marine landscape of no value to anyone, through a popular game tagged "Build Your Own Reef," where the destructive power of fish bombing and over-fishing were "graphically illustrated."

Continue reading at: Semporna Islands Darwin Project's Coral Seas Roadshow
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Sipadan dive permit quota to stay

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will not increase its daily permits for diving at Sipadan island.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said the move to maintain a 120 daily dive permit quota is to ensure preservation of Sipadan’s environment.

He said Sipadan, which is part of the Semporna marine area, was only recently endorsed as the richest marine bio-diversity spot on Earth by a team of top scientists, remained a favourite tourist spot with a waiting list that stretches up to seven months.

“If we do not protect and conserve our environment, the tourism industry will not be able to thrive because the environment is the asset for the tourism industry,” he said, in reiterating he state is taking the necessary steps to preserve its natural heritage.

He said similar measures to preserve the environment was also taken for Mount Kinabalu where the number of climbers are limited to 192 a day.

“No matter how many visitors we have, we have to do something to prevent these flora and fauna from being affected,” he added.

He said the Sabah government would not be implementing any physical development at internationally renowned rainforest research center in the Danum Valley and also the bio-diversity rich Maliau Basin which is also known as the ‘Lost World’.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Sipadan dive permit quota to stay
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Semporna has the world’s highest marine biodiversity

KOTA KINABALU: A 17-day study of coral reefs off the Sabah east coast Semporna district has reaffirmed that the area has the world’s highest marine biodiversity.

But the study involving Malaysian and Dutch researchers unearthed some disturbing information – the area is under serious threat with only 5% of coral studied deemed in excellent condition and another 23% in good condition.

The study was jointly organised by WWF-Malaysia, the Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity (NCB) Natura­lis, Universiti Malaysia Sabah and Universiti Malaya.

Expedition co-leader Dr Bert Hoeksema of NCB said the Nov 29 to Dec 18 study found a staggering 43 mushroom coral species in waters off the 50 islands off Sem­porna.

He said the previous recorded richness of this family was 40 species at several sites off Sulawesi, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

Dr Hoeksema said the study found 844 fish species and more than 90 coral shrimp species, rivalling the highest counts in the Philippines and Indonesia.

Dr Hoeksema disclosed this yesterday when releasing preliminary results of the expedition.

But he said researchers found that nearly all the areas studied had been impacted by damaging human activities – fish bombing, discarded fishing gear and solid waste.

Continue reading (Incl.Pic) at: Semporna has the world’s highest marine biodiversity
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Mataking Island is full of delights

Mataking Island is indeed full of royal delights.

A 45-minute speedboat- ride from Semporna in eastern Sabah, crossing aquamarine seas and passing by sea gypsy villages on stilts, brings me to the warm embrace of a welcome band on the jetty of the Reef Dive Resort, Mataking Island.

While having my buffet lunch, which included a delightfully fragrant rosemary roast chicken, I am asked by the staff to add one more aroma from a choice of lemongrass, avocado, passion fruit, chempaka flower or frangipani. Not to the food of course; rather which oil I want to infuse my villa with.

My first dive here is led by Luke Cox, resort manager and master scuba instructor, who warns me to look out for Charlie, the 2m-long resident barracuda.

“The house reef is his feeding ground,” smiles Cox. “After eating, he hangs around, and smaller wrasse clean his teeth for him. At night, he sleeps underneath the jetty. He eats, gets cleaned and sleeps, what a life!”

It has been seven years since I first came to Mataking, and the house reef has indeed grown with both coral and fish life. Clouds of damsel and razor fish, plus an assortment of groupers and unicorn fish, greet me soon after entry into the blue waters made brilliant beneath the afternoon sun. But these are just the warm-up for some 400 silvery jacks closely packed into a stunningly shimmery formation.

And under the jetty’s shade, there are more rich pickings — bat and butterfly fish, groupers and yet more jacks. What’s also interesting here is that the numerous concrete Reef Balls (aimed at encouraging coral growth), placed here about four years ago, are showing encouraging signs of coral growth.

Diving is just part of the attraction here. The island lies on the very edge of Sabah’s waters, close to the marine border with the Philippines, and truly has an “away from it all” feeling. On past trips, I had walked around the whole island in under an hour and felt as if I was a ship-wrecked Robinson Crusoe.

This time, after my dive, I take a 10 minute stroll to the island’s tip and am surrounded on three sides by gently lapping waves, the perfect place to just breathe, listen and BE.

I return there a few hours later after dinner and feel as if Moses had parted the Red Sea, as a sinuous sandbar has magically emerged at low tide, creating a natural causeway to the adjacent small island of Mataking Kecil.

The sea is now grey and strangely silent, seemingly asleep in mirror-like tranquillity as it is bathed in the soft glow of a full moon . . .

My dive the next morning is at a site called Frog Fish Farm. Amelia Ng, the resident marine biologist who doubles up as a dive master, leads us to see two lobsters with 1m long antennae, two moray eels and a turtle. She has a knack for spotting impossibly small sea critters camouflaged amidst soft corals, such as several 1cm-wide orang utan crabs, so named for their orange “hair”.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Mataking Island is full of delights
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