ALEX Alexander, the local presenter for Scubazoo.tv’s new series Borneo Ocean Diaries (BOD), had just completed an epic journey.
She has travelled around Borneo exploring the underwater world; met and worked alongside the Marine Research Foundation (MRF) scientists dedicated to conserving the oceans and the key species that dwell within, and discovered how local communities are coming together to protect the seas.
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Now Alex returns to Kota Kinabalu to explore the incredible dive sites of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park (Tarp) and to make sure that each of her dives has a purpose.
She meets again with her incredible Padi dive instructor, Mark Hedger, who also happens to be the Padi regional manager for Malaysia , Brunei and Singapore.
As they sat at the Borneo Divers Mamutik Padi 5 Star training facility, where Alex did her dive training, Mark was quick to remind Alex how lucky they were.
“Living in Malaysia, we are really spoilt for choice with near perfect underwater conditions and so many great diving destinations in both Peninsula and East Malaysia.
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The abundance of marine life here is so richly diverse. I remember diving at Tioman Island over 20 years ago and it was an underwater heaven, filled with so many soft corals – it was there I saw my first green turtle.
Then, the memorable first time seeing a black tip shark in Perhentian Island followed by Whale Sharks in Kota Kinabalu, WWII ship wrecks in Labuan and the amazing wall dives in Sipadan island.
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The list goes on and on and the exploration still excites me every time I go underwater.”
But Alex’s travels around Borneo have taught her that these fragile marine ecosystems are under threat, and so Alex and Mark returned to Tarp to take part in a simple activity to help ensure their survival.
Mark is quick to point out that scuba diving for diving’s sake is all well and good, but to scuba dive with a purpose can make all the difference to our underwater world – certainly if that purpose is linked to marine conservation!
Awareness
As a Padi representative, Mark outlined the steps they were taking to conserve the marine environment.
“Padi and Padi Aware have worked together to address critical issues impacting ocean health so we have recently introduced the new Padi Aware Foundation to help achieve critical ocean conservation goals.
The Padi mission is to officially recognise a billion torchbearers who will explore and protect our ocean.
The Padi Aware vision is to achieve balance between humanity and the ocean.”
The Padi Four Pillars of Change aims to bring core brand values and put them into action for the betterment of people and the planet.
In support of this vision to achieve balance between humanity and ocean, Padi are investing in programs that help create more resilient dive communities around the globe.
The four pillars are:
- Ocean health
- Marine Animal Protection
- People & Community
- Healing & Wellness.
Mark outlined other ways people could get involved; “The Project Aware foundation has a few programs for people to find out more and you don’t have to be a certified diver to enrol in them all.
Some of the different courses available are; Project Aware, Aware Reef Conservation, Dive Against Debris, and Aware Shark Conservation.
“But how can someone help out to protect our oceans?”, Alex asks.
“Easy! Don’t pollute the seas, dispose of your trash correctly and don’t use single use plastic.
If you are walking along the beach, pick up any debris you see and if you can, organise a local beach cleanup.”
Simple steps like these can make a big difference to our oceans.
So Mark sets Alex her next certification challenge and proposed that she assists in a reef cleanup exercise - humans helping the ocean.
This involves diving carefully over a pre-determined section of reef to pick up plastics and other rubbish on the reef.
If all goes to plan, Alex would then be certified a Padi Project Aware diver.
Teaming up once more with the entire Marine Research Foundation team – Dr Nick, Liyana, Jonathan and KC – for this final epic challenge, and with Mark’s professional guidance, Alex headed out to clean up the reefs in the iconic Tunku Abdul Rahman Park.
Future Thoughts
Over the course of Alex’s final dives, Alex felt a mixture of emotions.
On the one hand, it was great to be able to confidently dive over the beautiful reefs and encounter such a variety of diverse marine life.
On the other, she came up with a bag full of plastics and rubbish she had collected during the dives, all of it having the potential to harm the marine environment.
So what had she learnt from the whole experience of becoming a scuba diver, meeting marine scientists and helping to conserve the oceans?
“I realised that our marine creatures are so fragile and that we need to do whatever we can to help them, especially reduce the use of plastic, therefore reducing how much plastic goes into the ocean.”
Alex continued, “One of the most important aims of the series is to show people that sustainable fishing practices are vital for the oceans health and also to show them how sustainable fishing can be done in Sabah.”
On completion of her epic adventure, the wrapping up of the shoot and the life changing experiences she had been through, Alex had one final message;
“I hope everyone, including young children that watch the show, will want to protect our oceans and make eco-friendly choices throughout their lives.”
"Borneo is surrounded by some of the most diverse and beautiful marine life on the planet.
From coral reefs teaming with colourful fish, to seagrass beds acting as a nursery to marine life, to the open ocean with its pelagic wanderers; Sabah’s seas have it all.
But the whole of this oceanic ecosystem is under threat.
Overfishing, bycatch, habitat destruction and pollution are all playing a part in the loss of this vital resource and life-sustaining habitat.
Thankfully, here in Sabah, work is being done to protect not just the Bornean waters, but that can have repercussions around the world."
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Alex and Mark diving around Tarp.
Removing an old fishing net from the reef.
.jpg "Saving seas")
