Underwater clean-up at Manukan nets 94kg

KOTA KINABALU: An underwater clean-up, in conjunction with the International Coastal Clean-up celebrated globally on Sept 21 every year, was conducted by the Sparks Divers Club at Manukan Island, off here, Saturday.

About 20 of the club’s divers took part in the event, while six volunteers from University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) together with staff of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Parks (TTAR) cleaned up the island’s coastal areas.

They managed to scoop up 94kg of trash, consisting mostly of plastic bottles, cigarette butts, plastic bags and many more, within one hour.

The event’s dive instructor, Muhammad Enuz Syafiq Sekui Abdullah, said it was the club’s first underwater clean-up since it was established about two months ago.

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“In last year’s event, only the coastal area was cleaned up. This year, Sabah Parks has launched its very own scuba diving, and so we took the opportunity to do the underwater clean-up,” he told reporters after the exercise.

Muhammad said plastic is harmful to the marine environment and the community should take responsibility by keeping the environment clean.

“We dived about 10 feet deep and most of the trash found were tangled between reefs and some were covered by sand. Plastics trapped in reefs can negatively impact coral health,” he said.

TTAR Manager Anthony Tinggi and Senior Marine Research Officer cum Sparks Divers Club President, Nasrul Hakim Maidin, were also present.

Anthony said travel agents have the responsibility to brief tourists on the need to keep the environment clean, especially in protected marine areas.

“Most of the trash here are either from the tourists or swept by waves from other places. To tackle this problem, we spend nearly half million ringgit a year.

“It is quite worrying because it can affect our country’s image. I hope the tour guides can help instil awareness among the tourists on the importance of cleanliness in public places, especially in marine areas,” he said.

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Anthony also welcomed volunteer divers to clean up the underwater as most of the trash can also be found in deep water.

“I hope more there will become volunteers, especially divers, to help clean up the underwater, in the effort to improve the water quality for marine life,” he said.

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