Protect Coral Reefs in Malaysia

Coral spawning is an annual event where corals simultaneously reproduce by releasing millions of tiny egg and sperm bundles into the water. Each bundle must find another bundle from the same species to fertilise. Mass spawning increase the likelihood of finding and fertilising a matching bundle. The corals get cues from the lunar cycle, water temperature and tides for this synchronised breeding.

Our team on Tioman Island has been monitoring coral spawning on the Island since 2013. On Tioman Island, the major spawning happens during full moon in April, while a much smaller scale happens during full moon in October. Spawning happens at night and usually last 2 to 3 days.

Last month, our team is out again to monitor the mass spawning event. This year, the monitoring was joined by Department of Fisheries Malaysia, Pahang too.

Reef Check Malaysia believes in co-management and one of our focuses is empower local community participation in conservation and create economic opportunities.

Born and raised on Tioman island, Shahir is one of the early members of the Tioman Marine Conservation Group (TMCG). TMCG is formed to provide local community the opportunity to work alongside reef managers in managing and protecting marine resources on their island.

Shahir is a certified diver who had always wanted to be involved with reef rehabilitation projects on Tioman. “I was interested in rehabilitating a patch of damaged reefs in front of the village I live in - Kampung Air Batang, so I went to RCM for guidance”, shares Shahir.

Now Shahir is part of the Reef Check Malaysia team, his 5^th year, where he leads the members of TMCG in conducting conservation activities and strives to continue creating awareness among the community.