Fish Bombing update
13 February 2012, 3:29 pm

   Last week, we received another email from a concerned diver about the rapid decline of the reefs at Mantabuan. This is on top of the many reports that we have been receiving about bombing in the vicinity. This is his message:

“I have friends over here in Sabah and have been diving here fairly regularly and I can definitely tell that its recent damage. I think that bombing has started up somewhere around 3-4months ago, or at least regular bombings.  I say this because when I was diving Mantabuan in October last year (2011) the corals were intact and very beautiful.  I have been back on quite a few occasions since then and there is more and more damage. We even saw dead fish on the reef and at one point some still in ‘death throws’ and some flapping on their sides underwater.  Very shocking and sad. I don’t mean to point fingers, but when I was diving in October and the reef was ok there were no boats in the shallows around the island.  Every time we have seen the damaged reef and new damage, it has been consistent with these boats which have either set up home on the shore of Mantabuan or are hanging around on what must be a daily basis.  There also seems to be quite a few more boats near/around the little village off Bohedualang opposite Mantabuan.  I personally do not think this is a coincidence.  The fish bombs we heard yesterday were very loud which to me also means that they are getting more and more confident. Especially when there is no one around to enforce any kind of law and also that they aren’t caring about divers in the water.  I wonder how long before there are human casualties.â€�

Photo taken by author of the email Boats off Mantabuan Island This is the second time a diver has written to us about the decline of the reefs in Mantabuan over a short period of time.

The practice of fish bombing is short term and unsustainable. Fish bombers select a reef area and fish there until they have decimated fish populations and destroyed the reef at the same time. Once devoid of life, they move onto the next reef, much like forest clearing.

If nothing is done, the reefs in Mantabuan will disappear and it will be close to impossible to rehabilitate the reefs, or even if it could, it will take a long time and a lot of resources.

Are we really going to allow Mantabuan to be lost?

Source: Reef Check Malaysia

The bombing on Mantabuan seems to have stopped. I have been diving and planting corals on Pom Pom island, which is the next island. With a group of volunteers, doing a lot of dives, we have only heard an average of 1 blast per day and most of those are distant. 

The dives we have done on Kapikan reef (lonely reef) which is the nearest reef to Mantaban have a few fishers using small boats and hook and line.  No evidence of hooka equipment or dip nets on the boats we have seen.  Hopefully the reef check reports have gone to Sabah Parks & the Maritime authority and the blast fishers have been chased away.