June 15, 2016 Tuesday
By Olivia Miwil
KOTA KINABALU: Tun
Mustapha marine park at the
northern part of Sabah will have a floating guard post next year to better
manage the vast area, said Sabah Parks director
Jamili Nais.
The largest park in
Malaysia, measures close to 900,000 hectares, is a home to
250 species of hard corals and around 360 species of fish, endangered green
turtles and dugongs.
Prior to the gazettement
last month, the park was exposed to activities such as overfishing, fish
bombing and poaching that were destructive to its ecosystem.
"The guard post with
a patrolling boat will be operational around the clock,
"More staff will be
stationed at the area to ensure security and to execute management work of the park ," he said.
Jamili added an operation
office had also been set up with more than 10 officers to handle administrative
works, patrolling and meeting with communities.
He added Sabah Parks had
to inform and explain to stakeholders and local communities on what to expect
from the announcement of the gazettement.
"The gazettement of
the park does not mean the place has totally
become a restricted area.
"Experts have
identified several areas reserved for fishing, commercial trawling, ecotourisn
and no-take at respective zones," he said.
Jamili concluded
conventional method cannot be used in managing the park because of the vast areas.
"To manage the huge
area effectively and sustainable, Sabah Parks wil have
close collaboration with World Wildlife Fund-Malaysia, Fisheries, Malaysian
Maritime Enforcement Agency, marine police, district municipal council
and local communities."
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