Coral in Penang

20 years ago there were soft corals and sea fans off Pantai Kerachut and at Pulau Tikus. Pulau Kendi is an island south of Penang Island that don't have proper beach for boat to stop and that could be the reason few people ever been there, me included. Glad to know that the corals are thriving at Pulau Kendi.

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December 8, 2010
Expert: We must preserve corals

GEORGE TOWN: Pulau Kendi in Penang is one of many islands in the country that is rich in coral but has not been gazetted as a marine park.

Marine biologist Prof Zulfigar Yasin said there was no conservation work to protect the coral on these islands.

“If the situation persists, the fishes will lose their habitat and Malaysia will slowly lose part of its heritage,” he said during an interview at Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Zulfigar, who is with the university’s School of Biological Sciences, was a presenter at a five-day training workshop on coral taxonomy at the university which ends today.

He cited other islands like Pulau Songsong in Kedah, some islands near Langkawi and Pulau Sembilan in Perak should be gazetted as marine parks to conserve their coral.

“Pulau Payar, for example, is providing the fishermen a sustainable source of fish after being gazetted as a marine park,” he said.

Currently, there are six marine parks in the country, which are made up of 42 islands in Kedah, Perak, Terengganu, Pahang, Johor and Sabah.

In a related matter, Prof Zulfigar said the government should incorporate a more specific policy to address coral bleaching as the issue would impact the coastal communities and the country’s tourism industry in the long-term.

He was commenting on the closure of nine popular snorkelling sites at marine parks in Kedah, Pahang and Terengganu in July for several months because of coral bleaching.

The Marine Parks Department had banned recreational activity and the sites were off limits to divers and coral enthusiasts.

Dr Zulfigar said Malaysia currently only has a general policy to protect bio-diversity and it was high time to rescue the coral reef by creating public awareness while adding that another factor related to coral bleaching was the rise in acidity levels of sea water due to human activities.

Pulau Payar Marine Park in Bolehland

In Bolehland, marine parks are places where marine biodiversity should be protected. True. Others like the forest, the jungle, the land flora and fauna are out of the objectives and need not be protected. True?

Please read the objectives spelled out on a poster at Pulau Payar Marine Park, Langkawi, Kedah.

Objectives
To conserve and protect the biological diversity of the marine community and its habitats.
To upgrade and conserve the natural habitats of the endangered aquatics species.
To establish management zones for the conservation of aquatic flora and fauna.
To establish zones of recreational use consistent with its carrying capacity.
To manage and develop capacity building in public awareness programmes.

So, only aquatic flora and fauna to be protected. Trees can be chopped. Right?

Don’t they know that trees are part of the ecosystem? (And their vision is “To be recognised as the lead agency in the management of natural resources and the marine environment at par with those of the world”. World class agency? A joke indeed. )

Trees contributed leaves, dead wood, insects and other fauna which contributed to the sustainability of the marine life. It is part of the bigger ecosystem. Let me give an example (just on the dead leaves). Dead leaves fallen into the sea will be eaten up by minute planktons. Planktons are food for fish fry. Smaller fish eaten by bigger fish. And fish are food to survival of human race. Do you know why there were bumper harvest of fish and prawns after the tsunami? That was because trees and wood (from houses) were swept into the sea. Planktons flourished. And the bountiful harvest resulted.

So, why chopped trees in Marine Park?

In the name of building a huge billboard to show to the world that we are world class? Unfortunately, trees was blocking the huge billboard. So we must axe the trees (Photo above).

Trash-burning at shoreline. Will this affect the delicate coral reefs? Call this Marine Park? (Photo above)

And so when there were not enough food for the fish, fish have to go-begging. Or is this what we called "ecotourism"? (Photo above)

Environment scientists keep saying that you should not feed wildlife in the wild. I guess this only apply to those animals in the forest and jungle. Not for fish (in Pulau Payar Marine Park). Not for eagles (like the Langkawi eagle feeding tours). This is ecotourism from a faraway country called Bolehland (aka Bodohland).

Note: Pulau Payar Marine Park is between Langkawi Geopark and Penang lsland.