KOTA KINABALU: A group of 126 volunteers removed 78kg of debris from waters off Kota Kinabalu during the Borneo Ultra Ocean Clean-Up 5.0 on Saturday (April 18), according to Sabah Dive Squad Club programme director Yong Lip Khiong.
Yong said the debris included plastic bottles, aluminium cans and abandoned fishing nets.
“Ghost nets, or abandoned fishing nets, remained a major threat to Sabah’s marine ecosystem because marine animals could become trapped in them and die from suffocation or starvation, while the nets could also damage coral reefs over time,” he said.
Yong said 14 members of the Sabah Dive Squad Club joined the clean-up with security personnel and other volunteers.
He said he dived to a depth of 12 metres for more than an hour with the team to remove part of a 100-metre net from waters off Kota Kinabalu.
Another diver, Mohd Saiful Md Saad, 39, said he had seen marine animals, including guitar sharks, turtles and large fish, that died after becoming trapped in ghost nets.
“Plastic debris also harmed marine life. Turtles have been found dead after eating plastic that they mistook for jellyfish,” he said.
The Navy organised the fifth edition of the clean-up through its Submarine Force Headquarters in conjunction with its 92nd anniversary.
Participants also included personnel from the navy, army, marine police, Fire and Rescue Department, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Civil Defence Force, Universiti Malaysia Sabah and Sabah Parks.
