Ocean Issues in Malaysia

After researching more on the issues that we have here in Malaysia, I discovered that most of our over fishing is caused by many small local fisherman as well as some unethical methods. Bottom trawlers which are essentially large fishing nets with heavy weights that are then dragged along the sea bed once they are casted. This leads to breakage of the reefs which causes terrible damage that could take up years to replenish itself. Furthermore, small local fishing boats contribute to pollution as sometimes fishing equipment such as nets are left behind in the sea. These nets get caught onto the corals and with strong tides, it does not only put the reefs in danger, but the sea creatures living there at risk.

Malaysia's reef are facing the same threats globally which are: Pollution, Over fishing, Illegal, unreported & unregulated (IUU) fishing, as well as tourism. To make things short, IUU are basically inhumane fishing methods either through the use of bombs or poison to catch as many fish as possible through fishing vessels that trespass into zones they should not be going into.

Image retrieved from @rmacpherson on Twitter

As you can see, tourism puts our reefs in great danger. With many unethical tourism groups, they are not aware of the harm they are causing. People then to stand on top of corals whether it is to catch a breath of air or even just for a 'fun' photo. Pictures of carving names have onto these beautiful creatures have also been circulating the internet. They might not be aware but careless human beings love carving names and making a mark on things to show that they 'were here'. This not only puts the corals through pain but also puts them under severe stress.

Refrences

David, A. D. (2018, December 3). Malaysia’s fish stock in danger of being depleted. Retrieved April 30, 2019, from https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/12/436862/malaysias-fish-stock-danger-being-depleted

WWF. (n.d.). Ocean Issues - Save Our Seafood. Retrieved April 30, 2019, from http://www.saveourseafood.my/about/ocean-issues/

Abdullah, N. I. A. (2018, June 6). The huge problem of plastic waste in M’sia. Retrieved April 30, 2019, from https://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/428508

Reuters, R. (2018, October 25). Alarm grows as M’sia becomes world’s top dump site for plastic waste. Retrieved April 30, 2019, from https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/10/424840/alarm-grows-msia-becomes-worlds-top-dump-site-plastic-waste

WWF Malaysia. (n.d.). Marine. Retrieved April 30, 2019, from http://www.wwf.org.my/about_wwf/what_we_do/marine/

WWF Malaysia. (n.d.-b). Save our Coral Reefs. Retrieved April 30, 2019, from http://www.wwf.org.my/?5800/

Ruxyn, T. R. (2016, October 11). Some Tourists Are Destroying Malaysia’s Corals And Nothing Is Being Done About It. Retrieved April 30, 2019, from https://says.com/my/news/tourists-posing-with-endangered-corals-on-a-beach-in-malaysia