More mooring buoys installed in Semporna to protect coral reefs

 By Olivia Miwil

March 17, 2026 @ 5:49pm

SEMPORNA: More mooring buoys have been installed at key marine tourism sites in Semporna to protect coral reef ecosystems.

Reef Check Malaysia, in collaboration with Sabah Parks, conservation groups and a resort, recently installed more mooring buoys and carried out maintenance on two existing units in the Tun Sakaran Marine Park area and three units off Pulau Pom Pom.

"The newly installed mooring systems are intended for use by small snorkelling and tourism boats operating in the area.

"By providing structured mooring points, the project contributes to improved marine traffic management and supports long-term coral reef protection at Pom Pom Island."

Reef Check also strengthened conservation capacity by helping 22 youths from five island communities in Semporna — Denawan, Kulapuan, Mabul, Selakan and Larapan — to complete a scuba diving certification programme.

The training equips them with essential diving skills to support marine conservation work.

Reef Check Malaysia senior programme manager Adzmin Fatta said the training aimed to prepare community members to take on more active roles in conservation efforts.

"This training is important because we are preparing them for further marine conservation activities, such as coral reef monitoring, coral restoration, underwater clean-ups, ghost net removal, crown-of-thorns starfish removal and many more.

"Recently, we responded to several crown-of-thorns outbreaks and ghost net incidents.

"From January to March this year alone, more than 600kg of ghost nets and over 4,000 crown-of-thorns starfish were removed."