Cleaning up for love: Over 300kg of trash gathered from Semporna islands' seabeds

A diver carrying the Jalur Gemilang while picking up rubbish.

KOTA KINABALU: Over 300kg of trash was collected in a series of underwater cleanups around various islands off Semporna in the past few days as a show of love for the country and environment.

The International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day, a collaboration of various non-government organisations and volunteer divers, saw participants putting on their diving gear just to collect rubbish from the seabed.

Reef Check Malaysia (Sabah) programme manager Adzmin Fatta said the programme has been held since 2022.

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“Every year in September, we coordinate ICC Day in Malaysia,” he said when contacted on Monday (Sept 16).

Adzmin said although Reef Check has regular cleanup activities of its own, this specific event also saw participants and partners collecting data for use in advocacy efforts.

On Saturday and Sunday (Sept 14 and 15), participants collected trash from the islands of Larapan, Mabul, Sibuan and Kulapuan, with Selakan and Boheyan to follow, he said.

A group photo of some of the participants and their collected rubbish.

The programme on Larapan island mainly involved youth from the Larapan Marine Conservation Group and collected 57kg of trash, mostly plastics.

ALSO READ: Divers collect 12.1 tonnes of rubbish from ocean floors in Sabah

“On Mabul island, we teamed up with Pemimpin Belia IKLIM Mabul and collected fishing lines, plastic sachets and plastic bottles weighing almost 150kg,” said Adzmin.

At Sibuan, divers from Sabah Parks and Selakan Marine Conservation Group picked up 82kg of rubbish, mostly plastic bottles.

In Kulapuan Island, divers with the Kulapuan Marine Conservation Group collected 7kg of discarded items, mainly ghost nets, around the turtle resting area.

ALSO READ: Coastal cleanups net 26,000kg waste

Adzmin hoped programmes like this would educate the community about caring for the marine environment.

He said the programme was also held in conjunction with National Month.

“We want to show our love for the environment, and our care for the country by doing our part, and doing what we know best – diving,” he said.

During the event, divers also carried the Sabah state flag and Jalur Gemilang underwater to commemorate Malaysia Day.