KUALA LUMPUR, 15 MARCH 2022 – A popular tourist activity - tourists and tourism operators feeding fishes and turtles for the perfect selfie is actually harmful to marine life.

Fish feeding can disrupt the balance of our marine ecosystem as one small change can have a huge domino effect, starve fishes to death due to bacteria growth, and change the natural diet of fishes causing an algae and Crown-of-Thorns starfish bloom - which kills corals.

"Fish feed is not a healthy practice especially when it is not part of the fishes' natural diet, for example, bread, and frequent feeding can cause fishes to become "domesticated" and sometimes may become too aggressive towards human when seeking for food,"

shares Dr James Tan, a marine biologist at the School of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu.

According to Reef Check Malaysia, a marine conservation NGO, while there has been an increase of 2.94% of live coral cover in 2021, there are still a number of indicators that show coral reef health is being damaged by impacts such as pollution, marine debris, and warm water bleaching.

Unsustainable marine tourism can threaten Malaysia’s marine biodiversity, which in turn, affects those who rely on marine resources as their livelihoods - fisherfolk, businesses, and island communities.

On your next island holiday, you have a choice. Do not support irresponsible tourism operators. Choose eco-friendly hotels and tour guides. For green dive operators, you can refer to greenfins.net

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