Alarm as drifting ocean rubbish begins converging on Sipadan

By Olivia Miwil - June 7, 2019 @ 1:00pm

SEMPORNA: Sipadan Island, among the few places on earth which provides an unforgettable experience for scuba divers, has not been spared from the blight of man-made floating trash currently polluting the world’s oceans.

Sipadan Island Park and Tun Sakaran Marine Park manager Boni Antiu said that a clean-up of waters off the isolated island in November yielded up to 60kg of rubbish on the beach and 2kg underwater.

“The trash found under the water line was not only (drifting) in the waters of dive sites, but also stuck on corals.

“The debris comprised plastic flotsam, which included shampoo bottles, which we believe had drifted from nearby islands such as Mabul, or left behind by tourists,” he told the New Straits Times.

This, despite the fact that dive operators help ensure no rubbish is left behind by divers at the island.

Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, who is also Semporna Member of Parliament, recently issued an ultimatum and stern reminders to the people and authorities here to maintain the district’s cleanliness.

Meanwhile, Semporna Tourism Association chairperson Jamilah Ang said that dive operators here have been working together to organise trash collection drives from time to time.

“At Sipadan, our staff bury all biodegradable waste, as they will eventually decompose.

“As for waste that drifted here, we have contractors assigned to (remove) them about four times a month,” she said, adding that so far, no one has been fined for littering.

Sipadan was included in the global fight against ocean pollution when it was featured in the Over the Horizon soundtrack in the 2019 Samsung edition, which aims to raise awareness on environmental issues.

The five-minute clip features two-time Guinness World Record free-diving holder Ai Futaki exploring Sipadan’s pristine waters.

Located in the Celebes Sea, Sipadan and its world-famous corals were formed atop an extinct volcano. Visibility in Sipadan waters can reach up to 50 meters during the dry season.

Futaki, 39, said fish would normally flee when they spot human beings, but in Sipadan, marine life such as batfish, bumphead fish, parrotfish, dolphins and turtles are unperturbed by the presence of divers.

“I feel I am free, I am one of them, I am playing, I am so happy. But then, as soon as I see plastic (while freediving), I feel myself dirtying the ocean and that really makes me depressed,” she said in the video.