KUALA LUMPUR: Growing up in the Semporna islands, Marliana Saidun knew very little about the sea because women don’t go out to fish as men do.
That changed when she joined the Larapan Marine Conservation Group in Semporna, set up by Reef Check Malaysia, in 2022.
“Our livelihood depends on the marine resources that the coral reefs provide. If the coral reef is destroyed, so is our rice bowl.
“I joined because I wanted to see the ocean and protect and restore our reefs from long-term damage,” said the 24-year-old in an interview.
Marliana is one of the many who have joined community groups that Reef Check, a marine conservation NGO, set up to include local islanders in preserving Malaysia's beautiful coral reefs.
Reef Check chief operating officer Theresa Ng said they have trained more than 100 local islanders for marine conservation work.
"Sign-ups are open to locals who are 18 and above, and the training is free.
"Members are trained to dive and monitor, protect and rehabilitate the coral reefs," she said.
Ng said the first and long-term community-based programme started in Pulau Tioman in 2014.
Currently, there are 80 islanders involved in the Tioman Marine Conservation Group.
"Two former members are now our permanent staff. We have a group chat with the members, and whenever we need help, we will ask who is available," she said, adding that members are paid for their work.
Reef Check has also scaled the community groups to Mersing, Pulau Redang and Semporna.
To aid local members, Ng said the Reef Rehabilitation Toolkit was launched this year as a step-by-step guide to replanting corals.
The waterproof booklet is written in English and Bahasa Malaysia.
Saving our coral reefs: A Tioman Marine Conservation Group member helping rehabilitate a coral reef.
“Our core rehabilitation methodology involves local communities. You don’t need a marine biologist degree. It is more citizen science.
“Our long-term goal is for the local community to be the ones who are responsible and empowered to undertake marine conservation actions,” she said.
Reef rehabilitation, according to the booklet, is identifying damaged coral reef areas and regrowing corals by transplanting live coral from other areas.
“We take coral fragments that have been recently damaged, either by a storm or an unsuspecting tourist, and try to rescue them.
"The fragments are attached to glass bottles or metal frames and weekly, the team will go down and use a little toothbrush to brush off the algae from the coral.
"It takes a year for maintenance and monitoring. When the coral fragments have grown larger, then they can survive on their own," Ng said, adding that the survival rate is 90%.
Helping hand: A member from the Redang Marine Conservation Group removing ghost nets that can trap and starve marine animals to death.
Another one of Reef Check’s main projects is reef surveys.
According to Ng, Reef Check monitors over 300 sites every year with the help of over 1,000 eco-divers.
“We do this annually at the same sites, using GPS (the Global Positioning System) to mark the exact location,” she said.
She said the divers first lay a 100m transect tape before using an underwater slate to count the indicator species like types of sea creatures and corals.
“All this information gives us an overview of the health of the marine ecosystems in the area,” she said.
Ng said the team also removes ghost nets – fishing nets that have been lost or abandoned – that may not be from Malaysian waters but had drifted from other places.
“Once we get the report, we'll work with the local islanders," she said, adding that these ghost nets could entangle and kill marine animals.
While these nets are a human-made threat, Ng said a natural threat is the crown of thorns starfish.
"These starfish are coral predators and eat healthy corals.
"However, action is only taken when there is an outbreak of the starfish in an area. We will start by trying to remove them (from the corals), take them onto shore and bury them, or we inject them with a vinegar concoction, which would kill them,” she added.
Ng holding a dive slate used by divers for reef surveys.
Established in 2007, Reef Check started with the goal of monitoring reef health and has branched out to community-based conservation programmes, advocacy and promoting sustainable marine tourism in the country.
The team has since expanded to 21 staff with offices in Redang Island, Tioman Island, Mersing group of Islands, and Semporna, Kota Kinabalu and Mantanani Islands in Sabah.
“A lot of Malaysians don't realise that coral reefs are actually the habitats of many fish and a very important source for our food security.
“If there's no more coral reefs, we might get less fish,” said Ng.
She also said that Malaysia’s famous corals play an important role in tourism.
“They're important for economic livelihoods, especially for coastal communities.
“It's not just about protecting the environment but our livelihoods and food security,” she added.
Ng urged the public to participate in caring for the reefs through ways like using reef-safe sunscreen, purchasing and using eco-friendly products or choosing eco-friendly holiday operators.
Everyone can do their part in protecting the marine environment, she said.
For its noble efforts, Reef Check Malaysia was named as one of the 10 winners of the Star Golden Hearts Award (SGHA) 2024.
SGHA is an annual award by The Star that honours everyday, unsung Malaysian heroes.
For more details, visit sgha.com.my.
