Protect Coral Reefs in Malaysia

Ghost nets contribute to ocean pollution, by causing extensive social, economic and environmental impacts. They trap and entangle marine life, besides also smothering and damaging important ecosystems such as coral reefs and seagrass beds.

Reef Check Malaysia’s teams on the islands have been receiving reports of ghost nets,and have been working hard to remove them from the marine environment before they cause extensive damage. In just the first quarter of 2024, our local group on Redang Island, the Redang Marine Conservation Group (RMCG) successfully removed approximately 140kg of ghost nets, all found near the village jetty! Removing these nets is no easy feat, especially if they are already tangled around coral reefs. This is what the RMCG team faced, when they spent more than 3 hours to carefully remove the nets so as to not break any corals in the process of removal. The nets collected were then given to the local youth of the island, who planned to recycle them into football goalposts nets.

There has been limited data on ghost nets in Malaysia, specifically from Tioman Island. RCM began training the local Tioman islanders in 2015, to locate and remove ghost nets from any reefs and beaches around the island. We also help set up a reporting hotline to gather information about ghost nets. From 2016 until 2022, we recorded a retrieval of 145 ghost nets, weighing more than 21 tonnes (21,000 kg) from around Tioman Island alone. Today, most of the retrieval work on the island is done by the Tioman Marine Conservation Group (TMCG), with the help of volunteers from the local dive shops.

Where do these nets come from? Despite the fact that Tioman Island is a Marine Protected Area (MPA), these nets actually are thrown away or left behind by fishermen who operate illegally inside the MPA. While fishing, these nets get caught in reefs and are sometimes torn in the process of removing them. The fishermen then opt for the easy way out which is to leave them behind, or even dispose of them since they are damaged and cannot be used again. These nets also find their way to Tioman Island, due to strong currents and monsoonal winds. If the fishing nets are left in the sea, they can continue to “catch” fish and other marine life such as sharks or turtles, which can end up dead.

Due to the extensive work done on ghost nets, our colleagues on Tioman Island, and a member of the Tioman Marine Conservation Group (TMCG) recently published a paper titled “Incidence of ghost nets in the Tioman Island Marine Park of Malaysia”. It details the amount of nets collected, where and when it is usually found, and suggests some recommendations to help deal with this issue. 

Links:

• Incidence of ghost nets in the Tioman Island Marine Park