RMCG’s various clean up efforts

In April, our colleagues and members of the Redang Marine Conservation Group (RMCG) came together to remove a reported ghost net weighing 40kg. Following this dive, they also managed to remove almost 70 Crown-of-Thorns starfish, whose numbers appear to be increasing.

RMCG members also participated in the “Berakit Beach Clean Up” program, co-organised with the Department of Fisheries (DoF) and Kapas Conservation. The participants of this activity managed to collect more than 1,000kg of rubbish from Teluk Berakit, Kapas Island. All the waste collected was handed over to Majlis Perbandaran Daerah Marang for proper disposal.

reef check surveys progressing well with support of dedicated volunteers

Just like our colleagues in other locations, the team in Redang have been conducting Reef Check surveys and also coral bleaching monitoring surveys. In April, a few RMCG members monitored two sites for coral bleaching: the results showed some bleaching but nothing too severe. However, in June, more monitoring efforts were conducted in six more locations, revealing that majority of the corals in those sites were undergoing severe bleaching.

Throughout this last quarter, our Redang colleagues successfully completed the annual Reef Check surveys in Perhentian Island, Kapas Island and also Rhu Island. The survey team included volunteer EcoDivers and RMCG members.

Reef Health Boost: NEw rehabilitation frames in Pasir Akar

In early May, the RMCG members installed 60 frames for reef rehabilitation efforts in Pasir Akar, Redang. These steel frames were coated in cement and coral nubbins were attached to it. This particular site was chosen based on observation that the previous rehabilitation efforts here showed great progress in terms of coral growth. This effort is carried out to address the issue of dwindling coral health due to both natural factors and human-induced threats such as unsustainable tourism.

Multiple STakeholder engagement highlights focus on conservation

In June, our Cintai Redang colleagues represented RCM at the “SDG Summit 2024 Wilayah Timur” held in Universiti Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin. RCM has been working towards one of the 17 SDG goals, specifically SDG 14: “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”.

We also organised a consultation session with the various SCUBA dive operators on Redang Island, to gauge their feedback on ways to generate local income through conservation activities on the island. Our team also took the opportunity to discuss current RCM efforts on the island. A majority of these operators were very supportive of our work and will continue to participate in our activities too.

Towards the end of June, we conducted an awareness program with the students of SK Pulau Redang. Among the activities were a classroom presentation and discussion, as well as colouring and building their own marine ecosystem scenery. We were fortunate to have all the students of the school join us for this program, and we hope that these programs will be able to instill a sense of love and ownership of the marine environment among these students.