KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s Darvel Bay, which is rich with marine life and corals, has been spared from severe coral bleaching.
This was the assessment of a survey by Reef Check Malaysia (RCM) that was conducted on nine sites around the Darvel Bay area in the state’s east coast from July 9 to 12.
Its programme manager Adzmin Fatta said that compared to other sites in Sabah, such as the west coast of Kota Kinabalu, Darvel Bay's reefs are fortunate to experience relatively less bleaching impacts.
Most of these sites in Darvel Bay, he said, were impacted by warm water bleaching, with data showing an average of 13% of the coral population exhibiting bleaching, and 92% of bleaching colony-wise.
Six of the sites fall under the “moderate bleaching” category while the rest are categorised as “low bleaching”.
Adzmin said although the impact from bleaching was not as bad as other sites in Sabah, other impacts in Darvel Bay from human activities like fish bombing, trash pollution, ghost nets, and anchoring were observed throughout the survey.
“These activities pose additional threats to these reefs and potentially reduce their resilience,” he said, in a statement on Saturday (July 13).
“On sites with high severity of coral bleaching, RCM advises the site to be closed from any activities that may further elevate its level of stress and ultimately compromise its survival,” he added.
RCM proposed the establishment of a dedicated Bleaching Response Committee which will also facilitate discussions, coordinate response efforts, and oversee the implementation of the response plan.
“This committee should include representatives from relevant government agencies, research institutions, local communities, and stakeholders to ensure a comprehensive approach to managing coral bleaching events,” Adzmin added.
The survey is part of the RCM’s annual reef check monitoring efforts which also included looking at the extent and severity of coral bleaching events.
Recently, the world's coral reefs have been declared to be experiencing its fourth mass coral bleaching event.
This is due to the rise in sea surface temperatures.
Coral bleaching occurs when corals expel symbiotic algae living in their tissues, causing them to turn white and potentially die if the stress persists.
Adzmin said, in Sabah, this phenomenon could devastate marine ecosystems that rely on coral reefs for biodiversity, fisheries, and tourism.
“It threatens livelihoods, food security, and the overall health of coastal communities dependent on these ecosystems,” he said.
He said RCM together with Sabah Parks, Borneo Marine Research Institute, and local conservation groups have been actively monitoring coral bleaching around Sabah.
Based on the preliminary findings, he said, 63 sites have been reported to experience coral bleaching.
“Out of these 63 sites, one falls under the ‘extreme severe bleaching’ category (>80% bleaching), seven are categorised as severe bleaching (51%-80%), and 16 are in the moderate bleaching category (11%-50%).
“A total of 34 sites show mild or low bleaching (1-10% bleaching), and five sites show with no bleaching,” Adzmin said.
He said the team also removed 263 numbers of Crown-of-Thorns starfish (COT) from several survey sites.
COT is a corallivore or coral feeder which can cause significant damage to coral reefs, especially during an outbreak.
Adzmin said a total of 3,550 COTs were successfully removed from Darvel Bay waters last year through a collaborative effort between RCM, local conservation divers, Sabah Parks, and the Fisheries Department, supported by the state Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry.
Continuous monitoring of the population and active response in the case of an outbreak by culling or collecting them is necessary to reduce the potential of coral drastic depletion around the area, he said.
Continuous monitoring and conservation diving activities, he added, were essential in Darvel Bay to address these ongoing threats, especially during the current mass bleaching event.
