Divers from Reef Check Malaysia conducting a health inspection on coral reefs around the islands off Mersing.
A TOTAL of 20 coral reef areas off the coast of Mersing are showing signs of bleaching, says Reef Check Malaysia (RCM).
RCM Mersing programme manager Nazirul Amin Azmi said this was based on a survey it conducted between March and October last year.
“The survey was conducted at 36 known coral reef locations around Pulau Besar, Pulau Mertang, Pulau Sibu, Pulau Tinggi, Pulau Pemanggil, Pulau Aur, Pulau Lima and Pulau Tokong Sanggol.
“Twenty out of the 36 locations had shown signs of coral bleaching, with each location experiencing less than 10% bleaching.
“This usually occurs due to changes in weather and water conditions, which impact reef health on islands off Mersing,” he said when contacted.
RCM had also conducted a survey on reef health at the 36 locations and found reef coverage off Mersing in generally healthy condition, with 52.7% coverage areas.
“The reef population also increased by 2.3% last year,” he said, adding that the survey was conducted with Johor Fisheries Department and Tengah Island Conservation.
Nazirul added that they had also conducted 36 coral-eating crown-of-thorns (COT) starfish removal sessions around eight islands.
“We managed to remove 424 COTs, which are natural predators of coral reefs.
“A higher population of COT will affect coral health and cause massive coral death,” he said.
As part of their conservation effort, RCM Mersing had chosen Pulau Besar, Pulau Tengah and Pulau Sibu for their rehabilitation programme, he said.
“Continuous surveillance is conducted to ensure these rehabilitation locations are in good condition and the planted coral reefs are healthy.”
Nazirul said RCM Mersing also organised nine beach cleanup activities last year, aimed at increasing residents’ awareness of washed-up waste and marine conservation efforts.
“We managed to get 478 volunteers from the local council, non-governmental organisations, local youth movement, island communities and government agencies.
“A total of 4,138kg of waste was collected,” he said, adding that cleanups were conducted at Pantai Bandar Mersing, Semanyir, Mawar and Pantai Tanjong Kempit, as well as beaches on Pulau Sibu, Pulau Tinggi, Pulau Aur and Pulau Pemanggil.
“We also organised 11 ghost net cleanups, where we managed to remove 1,030kg of ghost net and waste from the ocean.”
