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Coral Conservation

Coral reefs are vitally important to the marine environment. Although they cover less than 0.1% of the ocean floor worldwide, over 90% of marine species are either directly or indirectly dependent upon them for activities such as feeding, cleaning and nursery grounds. Coral reefs are productive ecosystems that not only support enormous biodiversity, but are also of immense value to mankind. Latest estimates suggest coral reefs provide close to US$30 billion each year in goods and services, including fisheries, tourism, coastal protection, source of medical advances and intrinsic value.

Coral reefs have survived tens of thousands of years of natural change, but many of them may not be able to survive the havoc brought on by mankind. Roughly one-quarter of coral reefs worldwide are already considered damaged beyond repair, with another two-thirds under serious threat. Threats include destructive fishing practices, overfishing, careless tourism, pollution, sedimentation, coral mining and climate change.

Coral Nursery

The Scuba Junkie SEAS team has partnered with WWF to support their coral gardening[- project on Pulau Mabul. They collect naturally damaged coral fragments, providing them a second chance by fixing them to coral structures. Regular maintenance involves tending to these structures, removing algae, and meticulously monitoring the growth and survival rates of the coral polyps. This project has also been working with local youth from Mabul to train them in coral conservation for the future health of the reefs around Mabul. 

coral transplant

Coral reef restoration

We are trialing a variety of techniques to determine the most suitable and successful cultivation method in our area. We collect coral fragments that have been damaged naturally and give them a second chance by attaching them to our coral structures. The structures require regular gardening, to remove competitors, and monitoring to record growth and survival rates. Once we have established best practices for our area we will use them to rehabilitate the damaged reefs that we have identified through our annual Reef Check surveys. 

CoralWatch

As part of our citizen science projects we undertake regular coral watch surveys around Mabul in order to monitor the health of the reef. This involves undertaking a dive and recording data on the colour variations of the coral and then entering it into the coral watch database. By doing this we can assess the changing coral conditions of the reef.
fish bombing

Fish bomb reporting

Despite the fact that it is banned in Sabah and the fact that it is a potentially life threatening activity for the person involved, fish bombing sadly still occurs and remains a major threat to our coral reefs. We assist the local authorities by reporting blasts whenever we hear them, providing information regarding the dive site we were on, how many blasts we heard and how loud they were.

COTS removal

On a healthy, balanced reef ecosystem, crown-of-thorns seastars (COTS) promote coral diversity. However, when the ecosystem is taken out of balance, outbreaks can occur, with devastating effect. In late 2018 we dealt with a major COTS outbreak on Mabul. Working in collaboration with numerous Mabul dive operators, the Semporna District Office, Reef Check Malaysia and the Sabah Tourism Board we were able to remove more than 8,000 COTS over a 10 day period. We are happy to report that since the completion of the operation the numbers of crown-of-thone seastars has remained at a healthy level.
COTS removal

About Us

Scuba Junkie SEAS is a not-for-profit marine conservation organisation based in Malaysia.

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