The Mersing islands initiative is supported by MISC Group through its Heart of the Ocean marine biodiversity conservation programme, which aims to improve ocean health by supporting coral reef conservation, increase reef resilience, and reduce plastic litter in our ocean.
The Current Situation
REEF CHECK SURVEYS IN MERSING ISLANDS EXPAND TO 29 SITES
Last year, Reef Check surveys around the Mersing islands have expanded from 26 to 29 sites, including two new sites off Pulau Lima.
Reef Check Malaysia, in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries Johor, has surveyed sites at Pulau Sibu, Pulau Tinggi, Pulau Besar, Pulau Pemanggil, Pulau Aur and Pulau Lima in August and September 2021.
Thanks to Tengah Island Conservation, a non-profit marine conservation organisation located on Pulau Tengah, the surveys were done successfully together with volunteers from the Mersing islands.
The 2021 Reef Check surveys revealed that Mersing’s average coral cover remained in a 'fair' condition at approximately 43%, although slightly decreased from 45% in 2020.
Over the years, coral cover around the Mersing islands has been gradually declining. Conversely, disturbance and pollution indicators have been on the rise.
Although not conclusive, the gradual decline in the average coral cover is likely due to natural and human impacts such as rough weather condition, high sedimentation, coral predators, destructive fishing practices and tourism activities.
This year, we plan to increase our survey sites to 32, better representing Mersing’s coral reef health condition.
YEARLY REEF CHECK SURVEY FINDINGS MAKE AN IMPACT ON BUILDING CONSTANT AWARENESS OF REEF CONSERVATION
In December last year, we shared our 2021 Reef Check survey findings in a workshop with Mersing islands' local tourism players, including island representatives and operators of chalets, boats and island hopping activities.
Reef Check Malaysia co-organised the workshop with Tourism Johor and Mersing Tourism Association, focusing on introducing various natural tourism products in Mersing and highlighting the responsibilities of tourism operators to protect the environment, especially the coral reef ecosystem.
The workshop has generated greater interest among the participants towards playing a more active role in protecting and conserving the Mersing islands’ coral reef ecosystem as well as reducing human impacts from tourism-related activities.
We will continue sharing our survey findings with other local stakeholders in the coming months to build awareness on the current health of Mersing islands' coral reef ecosystem and encourage greater participation among the local communities to proactively protect and conserve them.
OUT & ABOUT
MONTHLY BEACH CLEAN-UP ROLLS OUT
We have started a new monthly beach clean-up programme, kicking it off at Pantai Bandar Mersing with 568 kg of marine debris collected between January to March.
Marine debris is one of the main environmental threats to Mersing's coastal environment, particularly to the beaches.
The monthly beach clean-up programme aims to build the local communities’ awareness and participation to help address the marine debris issue in Mersing.
A total of 29 participants including local youths and staff of Hotel Seri Malaysia Mersing has joined our clean-up session. Most of the debris collected were plastic-based materials such as bags, bottles, wrappings and styrofoam.