PETALING JAYA: With coral reef health on the decline, the Fisheries Department is stepping up efforts to preserve Malaysia’s sanctuaries of aquatic life by deploying new artificial reefs in Kelantan waters.
The department revealed that it had deployed 12 soft-bottom trawl-blocking artificial reefs in the waters off Pasir Puteh and Bachok yesterday to act as physical protective barriers for ocean life against trawling.
Built from reinforced concrete, these artificial reefs prevent trawlers from dragging their nets across the seafloor, which would damage coral and other aquatic ecosystems while worsening water quality by disturbing seabed sediment.
“Each artificial reef structure weighs 15 tonnes and measures 2.6m in height and 2.5m in both width and length.
“They are built in full compliance with the United Nations Environment Programme’s guidelines for the placement of artificial reefs,” said Fisheries Department deputy director-general (development) Datuk Azahari Othman in a statement.
The new artificial reefs join the now over 300 artificial reefs that have been placed off various points of Kelantan waters since 2007, which hosts some of the biggest and most popular coral reefs in the country, such as those around Redang and Perhentian islands.
Azahari said its artificial reef programme would remain a core marine conservation strategy going forward.
“This not only boosts local fishery yields but also safeguards habitats from illegal fishing and climate-change impacts.
“This is a long-term strategic investment to secure the nation’s food security that in turn supports agro-tourism, enables scientific research and acts as a catalyst for coastal-community economic growth.
“The department remains committed to continuing this systematic conservation effort in phases to ensure the sustainability of the nation’s essential marine resources,” he said.
The department also said that RM1.68mil has been allocated for Kelantan’s artificial reef programme so far this year, with other artificial reef deployments planned for Tok Bali and Sungai Gali.
This comes after it was found that live coral cover (LCC) in Malaysia had continued to decline in a survey by non-governmental organisation Reef Check Malaysia in January this year.
It found that LCC in Malaysia’s coral reef sites had decreased from 50% in 2022 to 45.9% in 2023 and 44.7% last year following a survey of 315 coral sites nationwide.
