Jaw-some sight: The whale shark that made a brief appearance in Pom-Pom Island, Semporna. — Photo shared by a volunteer diver
KOTA KINABALU: Whale sharks seldom appear in waters off Semporna’s Pom-Pom Island so when one did recently, it sparked much excitement among divers.
Marine biologist Jeethvendra Kirishnamorthie said it was his first time seeing it after almost 10 years diving in those waters.
“I am so excited. I can say that after some 4,000 dives, this is the first time I have encountered the whale shark in the waters of Pom-Pom Island,” said the avid diver.
He said the appearance of the whale shark there was not only exciting, but also an indication that there might be an upwelling of food sources such as plankton in the area which was a testimony to the conservation work done.
Whale shark or Rhincodon typus is among the species that are protected under the Fisheries (Control of Endangered Species of Fish) Regulations 1999.
Jeethvendra said when there was an abundance of plankton around, species such as whale sharks, which feed on it, would naturally come by as they followed the food trails.
“This shark did not hang around too long, it went on its way after a short while and we were lucky to have encountered it during that brief moment,” he said.He noted that for Pom-Pom Island, some of the resident marine species were green turtles, hawksbill turtles and a lot of common reef fishes including a number of coral catsharks.
Jeethvendra said with the wide array of marine species and islands in Sabah, it was imperative that more efforts were put in to attract and protect marine species to an area.
He said for Semporna, some of the biggest threats to marine biodiversity were the occurrence of fish bombings that destroyed reefs as well as other human activities such as unsustainable developments, pollution, net fishing and ghost nets.
