Protecting Coral Reef Ecosystems: Combating Fish ...

WORKING TOGETHER TO STOP FISH BOMBING

The 6th Tourism Outlook Conference - Special Session in partnership with Marine Conservation Society and Semporna Island Project:

Protecting Coral Reef Ecosystems: Combating Fish Bombing Activities

May 2013

WWF-Malaysia PJ Office (HQ) 49, Jalan SS23/15 Taman SEA 47400 Petaling Jaya Selangor, Malaysia Tel: +60 3 7803 3772 Fax: +60 3 7803 5157 E-mail: [email protected]

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Suggested citations: Protecting Coral Reef Ecosystems: Combating Fish Bombing Activities. Report of the 6th Tourism Outlook Conference Special Session, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. April 24th 2013. Xpp. Printed in Malaysia Project Partners: Marine Conservation Society Unit 3, Wolf Business Park, Alton Road, Ross-on-Wye HR9 5NB, UK E-mail: [email protected] ; www.mcsuk.org Semporna Island Project PO Box 10626 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah www.sabahparks.org.my E-mail: [email protected]

Special Session Protecting Coral Reef Ecosystems: Combating Fish Bombing Activities In conjunction with

The 2nd Coastal, Island and Tropical Tourism: Global Impacts, Local Resilience Incorporating

The 6th Tourism Outlook Conference And

The 2nd International Dive Tourism Expert Meeting

By Choo Poh Leem

Report produced under Kudat and Semporna team, Sulu Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion Programme – WWF Malaysia May 2013

Table of Content ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................ 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................... 3 RINGKASAN EKSEKUTIF ......................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 1: SESSION’S ABSTRACT ......................................................... 5 CHAPTER 2: PRESENTATIONS’ ABSTRACT ............................................. 7 2.1 FISH BOMB REPORTING SYSTEM ............................................................................ 7 2.2 COMBATING DESTRUCTIVE FISHING IN SABAH (MALAYSIA) USING AN INNOVATIVE ACOUSTIC SYSTEM ........................................................................................................... 8 2.3 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNITY BASED PATROLLING IN MALIANGIN SANCTUARY, WITHIN THE PROPOSED TUN MUSTAPHA PARK ............................................. 9 2.4 ISLAMIC ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS PROGRAMME WITH THE SPECIAL FOCUS ON CURBING FISH BOMBING IN SEMPORNA ......................................................................... 10 2.5 IDENTIFIYING GAPS IN EFFORTS TO COMBAT FISH BOMBING IN SEMPORNA ........... 11 CHAPTER 3: DISCUSSION AT PRESENTATION SESSION ...................... 12 3.1 3.2

FISH BOMB REPORTING SYSTEM ......................................................................... 12 COMBATING DESTRUCTIVE FISHING IN SABAH USING INNOVATIVE ACOUSTIC SYSTEM 14 3.3 ISLAMIC ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS PROGRAMME WITH THE SPECIAL FOCUS ON CURBING FISH BOMBING IN SEMPORNA ........................................................................... 16 3.4 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND LIVELIHOOD PROGRAMME IN MALIANGIN SANCTUARY, WITHIN THE PROPOSED TUN MUSTAPHA PARK............................................ 18 3.5 IDENTIFYING GAPS IN EFFORTS TO COMBAT FISH BOMBING IN SEMPORNA ........... 18 3.6 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS .................................................................................. 19 CHAPTER 4: PLEDGES BY PARTICIPANTS ............................................ 21 APPENDIX 1: MEDIA COVER ................................................................. 23 APPENDIX 2 : SESSION’S BROCHURE ................................................... 27 APPENDIX 3: POWERPOINT PRESENTATION ....................................... 29 3.1: FISH BOMB REPORTING SYSTEM.............................................................................. 29 3.2: COMBATING DESTRUCTIVE FISHING IN SABAH (MALAYSIA) USING AN INNOVATIVE ACOUSTIC SYSTEM ......................................................................................................... 31 3.3: ISLAMIC ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS PROGRAMME WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON CURBING FISH BOMBING IN SEMPORNA ......................................................................... 34 3.4 : RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND LIVELIHOOD PROGRAMME IN MALIANGIN SANCTUARY, WITHIN THE PROPOSED TUN MUSTAPHA PARK ............................................................... 37 3.5: IDENTIFYING GAPS IN COMBATING FISH BOMBING EFFORTS IN SEMPORNA, SABAH .. 43

Acknowledgements We would like to express our appreciation to the organizers of the 2nd Coastal, Island and Tropical Tourism: Global Impacts, Local Resilience Incorporating the 6th Tourism Outlook Conference and the 2nd International Dive Tourism Expert Meeting for inviting WWF-Malaysia to organise a special session on Anti-Fish Bombing in conjunction with this conference. The special session was titled “Protecting Coral Reef Ecosystems: Combating Fish Bombing Activities” was organised jointly by WWFMalaysia and Semporna Islands Project- Marine Conservation Society (MCS). We would also like to express gratitude to our Kudat and Semporna Project donors from USAID Coral Triangle Support Partnership (CTSP), WWF-Switzerland and WWF-Netherlands for the funding support for the event and for the participation of community members from both Kudat and Semporna area in the Conference, and specifically in the special session on anti-fish bombing. Not to forget our special session presenters:  Chairman, Maliangin Island Community Association – Mr. Aziz Amirbangsah  Project Manager, Semporna Islands Project (SIP) Marine Conservation Society (MCS) – Dr Elizabeth Wood  Programme Manager, Reef Check Malaysia – Ms. Nattelee Lim  Project Officer, Semporna Islands Project – Ms. Habibah binti Yusah  Marine Biologist, WWF- Malaysia – Ms. Choo Poh Leem To the organising committees, thank you for the outstanding support and cooperation:  Chair – Robecca Jumin (WWF-Malaysia) and Dr Elizabeth Wood (MCS)  Moderator – Monique Sumampouw (WWF-Malaysia)  Media Liaison - Alexa Antal (WWF-Malaysia)  Rapporteur- Betty Gaisong and Ivoni Felix (WWF-Malaysia) Last but not least, we would like to express gratitude to the following participants in this special session:       

Department of Fisheries Sabah – Mr. Mohd Yusoff Abdullah and Mr. William Apin Sabah Parks- Mr. Fazrullah Rizally Abdul Razak Royal Malaysian Navy- Mr. Mohamad Hasli Bin Abu Hassan and Mr. Samsudin Bin Abdullah Banggi Youth Club (BYC)– Mr. Omar Bural and Mr. Mohd Zulfikar Jaffar Balambangan Island community (Village Head)- Mr. Marin bin Sipat Berungus community (Honorary Wildlife Warden) – Mr. Kamaruddin Bin Karim Maliangin Island community (Honorary wildflife Warden) – Mr. Donnie Musana

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   

Parawati Maliangin Womenn’s Group (Mediator) –Ms. Noraini Rosman Tigabu community – Mr. Amir Hassan and Mr. Absan Sama Semporna Island Project- Mr. Jamie Valiant Ng WWF-Malaysia- Ms. Sofia Johari, Ms. Bobita Golam Ahad, Ms. Suzianah Ramlee, Ms. Joannie Jomitol, Mr. Hermond Magupin, Ms. Sarmalin Sakirun, Mr. Muhammed Azreq bin ali Yusop, and Mr. Mohd Asri Bin Barail,

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Executive Summary The title of this special session on the topic of anti-fish bombing is ‘Protecting Coral Reef Ecosystems: Combating Fish Bombing Activities’. It was a collaborative effort between WWF-Malaysia and Marine Conservation Society (MCS) in information sharing among NGOs that are working towards reducing destructive fishing activity. It was held in Le Meridien Hotel on 24th April 2013. This special session had five speakers from different organizations. The total number of participants in the session exceeded some 100 participants including:                  

Auckland University of Technology, Auckland; Chinese University of Hong Kong; Charles Sturt University, Australia; Kent University, UK; National Chung Hsing University; Northern Arizona University, USA; Sabah Tourism Board; Sabaragamuwa Universiti of Sri Lanka; Southern Cross University; Thaksin University, Thailand; The College of the Bahamas Oakes Field Campus, Nassau, Bahamas; Universiti Malaysia Sabah; Universiti Malaya; Universiti Putra Malaysia; Universiti Teknologi Malaysia; Universiti Teknologi MARA; Community representative such as Kominitas Forum Nelayan Tomia (Komunto), and Other NGOs such as The Nature Conservancy and Reef Check Malaysia.

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Ringkasan Eksekutif Sesi yang bertemakan anti bom ikan ini bertajuk “Protecting Coral Reef Ecosystem: Combating Fish Bombing Activities”. Sesi ini adalah merupakan usaha bersama antara WWF-Malaysia dan Marine Conservation Society (MCS) untuk mewujudkan batu asas antara agensi berkenaan bagi membolehkan pertukaran maklumat dan idea dalam usaha mencegah aktiviti perikanan yang memusnahkan ekosistem marin. Sesi ini telah diadakan di Hotel Le Meridien pada 24th April 2013. 5 penceramah dari organisasi yang berlainan telah menghadiri sesi ini. Jumlah peserta yang menghadiri sesi ini telah melebihi 100 orang peserta dari:                  

Auckland University of Technology, Auckland; Chinese University of Hong Kong; Charles Sturt University, Australia; Kent University, UK; National Chung Hsing University; Northern Arizona Universiti, USA; Sabah Tourism Board; Sabaragamuwa Universiti of Sri Lanka; Southern Cross University; Thaksin University, Thailand; The College of the Bahamas Oakes Field Campus, Nassau, Bahamas; Universiti Malaysia Sabah; Universiti Malaya; Universiti Putra Malaysia; Universiti Teknologi Malaysia; Universiti Teknologi MARA; Wakil komuniti seperti, Kominitas Forum Nelayan Tomia (Komunto), dan Badan bukan kerajaan (NGOs) seperti The Nature Conservancy dan Reef Check Malaysia.

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Chapter 1: Sessions’ abstract Malaysia’s coral reefs cover nearly 3,000 km2, with most of them situated off the north and east coast of Sabah. Semporna, Kudat-Banggi and Sandakan regions at the north and east coast of Sabah are recognised as the priority conservation areas (PCAs) of the Sulu Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion (SSME). These three PCAs are also located within the Coral Triangle region, at the centre of the world’s marine diversity. Semporna is unique because of its rich mix of reef types, representing 5 major geomorphogical reef types, which include a proto-atoll, an offshore seamount, fringing reefs, patch reefs, and a barrier reef formation. Such areas have been proven to have a high level of biodiversity because of the mixed habitat types and ecosystems. During the Semporna Marine Ecological Expedition in 2010, a total of 44 species of mushroom corals were recorded surpassing other areas with a very high biodiversity in the Coral Triangle such as Berau, East Kalimantan and Raja Ampat, West Papua - Indonesia. To date, Semporna holds the record for the highest species diversity in the world for this coral family. Semporna has the largest percentage of coral cover within Malaysia, followed by Kudat Banggi Priority Conservation Area (K.Kassem et al., 2012). The coral reefs in Malaysia play an important role in fisheries and tourism sectors. The dependency of Malaysia on fisheries and other coral reef resources had increased over time. The fisher population was estimated 144,424 in 2011 and total fish consumption was expected to reach 56kg per capita in 2010. A resource assessment by Department of Fisheries indicated that demersal stocks had declined by 80-96% since the 1970s (State of the Coral Triangle Report, 2012). On the other hand, coral reefs of Malaysia attract thousands of tourists from all over the world especially in Sabah, the champion of Marine Tourism in the Malaysia. There have been an increasing number of tourist arrivals in the state with a total of 2.88 million tourists visiting Sabah in 2012, an increase of 1.1 per cent from year 2011 (2.84 million tourists). However, 97% of reefs in Malaysia are under threat from activities and events such as overfishing including destructive fishing, land-based pollution and unsustainable tourism development. Destructive fishing includes blast fishing (also known as fish bombing) and poisonfishing (also known as cyanide fishing) and threatens 85% of Malaysian’s reefs (Burke et al., 2012). Literatures on blast fishing in Sabah had been published for many years; but blast fishing is still happening almost every day in Sabah. In February 2012, a two-day Regional Anti-Fish Bombing Symposium was jointly organized by WWF-Malaysia, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) UK, Sabah Parks and the State Anti-Fish Bombing Committee under the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment. The objectives of this symposium were; i) to share approaches and techniques of marine biodiversity protection and provision for maintaining sustainable fish stocks in the future; ii) to present the impacts of Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) Fisheries to the communities; iii) to share best practices and lessons learned from other countries or other marine eco-regions which might be suitable to be adopted in areas of the Sulu Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion in Malaysia.

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During the symposium, Semporna nearby district - Tawau - was identified as the origin of blast fishing material (Dr. Suharsono, 2012). The persistence of fish bombing occurs for several reasons: 1) the extremely fast profit earned in a short time with low cost. 2) as a recreation activity or side income for the fishermen and seaweed planters; 3) fish bombers may not have access to government support due to their indeterminate status 4) this skill is passed on to new generations, just like other fishing techniques; and 5) those engaged in blast fishing believed the fisheries resources will never be depleted in future. As a result from this symposium, a ‘Call-to-Action’ was drafted and approved by all the participants present in the symposium. The Call-To-Action emphasized the need of consistent networking and information sharing in terms of lessons learnt, new methodology and new technologies in combating fish bombing. The aims of the Special Session held at the 6th Tourism Outlook Conference and the report here was to provide a platform for local stakeholders including scientists, researchers, managers, members of local communities and conservation organizations to share knowledge and review progress made towards reducing fish bombing in Sabah.

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Chapter 2: Presentations’ abstract 2.1

Fish Bomb Reporting System Nattelee Lim1 and Julian Hyde2

1 Programme Manager, Reef Check Malaysia; 2 General Manager, Reef Check Malaysia Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Coral reefs are the most diverse marine ecosystems on earth. They provide jobs, food and coastal protection to over 100 million people in South-East Asia. They are important ecological and economic resources in many countries around the world. However, coral reefs are facing a variety of both local and global threats, including blast fishing. The use of bombs to fish has been recorded as early as 1970s in Sabah. Even though fish bombing is illegal, it is still being practiced today. Typically, fish bombing activities have been reported by divers verbally through random conversations, with no centralized reporting system for fish bombing incidents in Sabah. Therefore, Reef Check Malaysia established a simple reporting system to collect baseline data, starting in May 2011. RCM distributed posters and stickers to help to promote the reporting system. A total of 127 reports have been received since the reporting system was established, via online reporting and text messages. Most reports were received from the east coast of Sabah, which is the area of most visited for diving. However, records indicate that the west coast and northern parts of Sabah are also targeted for fish bombing. The data collected has been used for preparing reports, presented at seminars as well as used in awareness campaigns. It is hoped that by having an established reporting system, fish bombing activity could be documented properly and the data could be used to map out the locations of incidents. This would then assist the relevant authorities in making decisions to improve and increase enforcement and management capacity at the highly bombed areas.

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2.2 Combating Destructive Fishing in Sabah (Malaysia) using an Innovative Acoustic System Elizabeth Wood1, Jamie Macaulay2, and Jamie Valiant Ng3 1 SIP Project Manager; Marine Conservation Society, UK;2 Postgraduate Researcher, University of St Andrews, UK;3 Project coordinator Semporna Islands Project, Sabah. Email: [email protected]

Fish bombing is one of the most serious threats to health, biodiversity, productivity and aesthetic value of coral reefs. In addition, it causes significant losses to local fishing communities who use non-destructive fishing techniques. Currently, the authorities are severely hampered in their efforts to apprehend fish bombers by the large areas that need to be patrolled, the shortage of manpower and the stealthy tactics employed by bomb fishermen to avoid being caught. The Marine Conservation Society and University of St. Andrews in collaboration with Sabah Parks have just begun a new programme designed to revolutionise the ability of surveillance and enforcement staff to take action against fish bombing. This programme involves the development of an underwater acoustic system that not only detects fish bombs in real time but also fixes their location. The first phase, launching in early May 2013, is to collect underwater acoustic data, including the sound of exploding bombs. The technical team will then build a ‘classifier’ to isolate explosions from snapping shrimp, boat engines and other background noise in real-time. The second phase, scheduled for later this year, will be to set up clusters of hydrophones that will continually feed information to a base unit containing software calibrated to recognise this ‘fish bomb’ signal. The system will be designed to alert Park Rangers via mobile phone when the sound is detected. It will also produce a map showing the co-ordinates of the fish bombing so enabling enforcement staff to respond immediately and send a patrol boat to intercept the perpetrators. The potential for detecting and monitoring fish blasting through the use of hydrophones was first recognised over a decade ago and field trials were carried out, but the system was not developed any further. It is hoped that this new initiative will provide a model and inspiration for similar programmes elsewhere in Sabah and further afield, where fish bombing is still causing major habitat destruction.

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2.3 Resource Management and Community Based Patrolling in Maliangin Sanctuary, within the Proposed Tun Mustapha Park Aziz Amirbangsah1, Sofia Johari2, Bobita Golam Ahad, Suzianah Ramlee 1 Chairman Maliangin Island Community Association, Kudat, Sabah;2 Community Liaison Officer, WWF-Malaysia Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

The Kudat-Banggi Priority Conservation Area located at the northern end of Sabah, Malaysia, is one of the globally significant areas for priority conservation under the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion (SSME). The government’s approval of the intention to establish the proposed Tun Mustapha (Marine) Park (1.02 million hectares) in 2003 has further reinforced the recognition for the area. Approximately 80,000 coastal residences will be affected by the establishment of the park. Thus, community participation in resource management is crucial to ensure successful establishment of the park. This paper describes the approach used and community experience in the preceding 5 years in securing community participation in resource management through the introduction of alternative livelihood programme in a demonstration site within the park, namely Maliangin Island. With support and facilitation of WWF-Malaysia, Maliangin Island Community Association (MICA) was established in 2010. MICA formed the mini collaborative management structure that unites the Maliangin Island community in managing Maliangin Sanctuary. MICA co-ordinates the community based patrolling, biodiversity monitoring as well as alternative livelihood programmes in the sanctuary. The patrolling activity is being carried out by community members trained as Honorary Wildlife Wardens (HWW). Based on an awareness survey in Maliangin and Banggi islands, there is a 9% reduction in fish bombing cases being heard in Maliangin Sanctuary and around Banggi island in 2012 compared to 2011.

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2.4 Islamic Environmental Awareness Programme with the Special Focus on Curbing Fish Bombing in Semporna Habibah binti Mohd Yusah¹, Haji Abdul Rahim bin Haji Oting² and Elizabeth Wood³ ¹ Project Officer Semporna Islands Project (SIP) Semporna, Sabah;² Islamic Development Officer Jabatan Hal Ehwal Agama Islam Negeri Sabah (JHEAINS) Semporna, Sabah; ³ SIP Project Manager, Marine Conservation Society, UK. Email: [email protected]

In Semporna, fish bombing activities can be traced back to at least the early 1970s. Since that time, fish bombing has been a major threat in Semporna waters. Research and monitoring from the 1980s show that Semporna’s rich diversity of coral reefs has been damaged and only 5% are in top condition. Over the past decade, the Semporna Islands Project has actively highlighted the effect of fish bombing during outreach and awareness programmes carried out in the Tun Sakaran Marine Park and at wellknown ‘hot-spots’ in the vicinity of the Park. During this time we have used a variety of educational materials and activities to draw attention to the problem and have called on communities to take a stand against it. But there is still resistance in some communities and greater efforts are needed to tackle the problem. Late in 2012, we launched a new awareness campaign in collaboration with the Department of Islamic Affairs (Jabatan Hal Ehwal Agama Islam /JHEAINS/). An approach through religion seems relevant considering that many of the fishermen and consumers in Semporna are Muslims. Reminding them that fish bombing is against Islam is crucial. This approach is also important because it shows that at its core, Islam supports protection of the environment. The involvement of JHEAINS and local Imams is ensuring that key messages are delivered effectively. Imams are experts in religious matters and are role models and respected people in the Muslim community. Apart from the involvement of Imams in the SIP ‘Friends of Tun Sakaran Marine Park’ Programme, a series of ten Friday sermons were prepared, together with explanatory notes. One topic has been presented each week at local mosques to reach a wider audience within the Semporna community. Sermon topics are related to environmental conservation and Islamic views towards it, including the issue of fish bombing. Qur'anic verses and narrated Hadiths are the main references to alert fishermen and chains of fish consumers in the district. The collaboration started in December 2012. Even though the initiative is still in its early stages, it will hopefully change people’s attitude towards the environment knowing that this is conforming to the Islamic belief. This programme is under continuous development and has potential application in other parts of Sabah, particularly in coastal locations.

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2.5

Identifiying Gaps in Efforts to Combat Fish Bombing in Semporna Poh Leem, Choo1 & Monique, Sumampouw2

1 Marine Biologist, WWF-Malaysia;2 Deputy SSME Manager/Team Leader for Semporna Priority Conservation Area, WWF-Malaysia Email: [email protected] , [email protected]

Literatures on fish bombing in Sabah had been published for many years; however fish bombing or blast fishing is still happening almost every day in Semporna. During the Regional Anti-Fish Bombing symposium in March 2012, Dr Suharsono identified that Semporna nearby District – Tawau was the origin of blast fishing material. “Call to Action” had been produced based on the consensus from the participants from enforcement agencies, private sector and NGOs. WWF-Malaysia initiated an awareness study in the targeted islands at Semporna district which are Kulapuan and Boheyan. This study aimed to identify one of the main gap in efforts to reduce the fish bombing activity is the low awareness level of targeted local community. The awareness level of the impact of fish bombing among the local communities in Kulapuan island and Boheyan island were surveyed. Their willingness to stop the fish bombing is very low, hence more education and awareness activity has to be conducted. The second part of the study aims to identify the fish bombing hotspots in Semporna, and current patrolling efforts by government agency. After we have conducted the GPS training activities with Marine Police, Sabah Parks, MMEA, and other dive operators, data was collected collaboratively by each agency. The map produced will show the fish bombing hotspots and proposed patrolling efforts in future.

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Chapter 3: Discussion at Presentation Sessions 3.1

Fish Bomb Reporting System

Presentation Fish Bomb Reporting System Presenter

Nattelee Lim

Organization Reef Check Malaysia

Moderator

Monique Sumampouw

Note taker:

(WWF-Malaysia)

Ivoni Felix Betty Gaisong

and

Key Points: 

Programmes- Eco-Actions, Education, Community.



In July 2011, a simple reporting system was established trying to collect baseline data basically by date, times, locations, number of blast.



Reporting system through online and messages (014-6471294).



Total reports accepted: 134 reports.



Number of resort/dive operators reporting= 6



However, there was a problem with the previous phone number for reporting so people tended to deliver reports through the wrong number until we have changed it to the current number (above).



Most reports came from East Coast of Sabah, including Semporna area.



Consistent reports from same location between 2011-2012 (Pom-Pom Island, Sipadan, Mataking Island and 3 more islands).



We need to focus on Tunku Abdul Rahman Park protection, because fish bombing incidents had been happen consistently within the park.



Data collection is used for preparing reports and was presented at Seminar.



Send updates to government by monthly basis, also updates in Facebook and official website (www.stopfishbombingnow.org.my)

Question: 1.

Kan Yaw Chong (Daily Express): Which part of the TARP is being bombed? Nattelee: The Gaya Island, 2 incidents in Suluk, Sapi and most of it behind the Gaya Island.

2.

Sofia (WWF-MY): Why do you think fish bombing has still happened in the marine parks (Tun Abdul Rahman Park & Gaya Island) even though there is enforcement around? Nattelee: The map with the marking and dates is not necessarily where the

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bombing has been happened but mostly where the people heard it was happening. It is the place/area where people usually dive and we are not sure whether the sound is from the inside or outside of the marine park. Dr Liz (MCS): The sound could be away from the marine park area. If the blast happened 3 km away, we still can hear the bomb loudly. Could be in deep water. 3.

Bobita (WWF): In your presentation you mentioned that the data gathered will be sent to the government agencies. Has this been done and what is their response? Is there any follow-up being done after the report/data submitted? Nattelee: We have some problem with the mobile number which being cut out. So we haven’t sent any report to the government agencies for a period of time. For now, we use the available data to do presentation to the communities & relevant agencies. Still receiving reports from divers. We don’t send to relevant agencies but we use the data to make reports, presentations and used in seminar. We will send the incident report to the enforcement agencies by monthly basis. We will be receiving reports from diver for this moment and decide what we should do with the data later.

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3.2

Combating destructive fishing in Sabah using innovative acoustic system

Presentation Combating destructive fishing innovative acoustic system

in

Sabah

using

Presenter

Dr. Elizabeth Wood

Organization Marine Conservation Society

Moderator

Monique Sumampouw

Note taker:

(WWF-Malaysia)

an

Ivoni Felix and Betty Gaisong

Key Points: 

Tactics of preventing fish bombing: Community awareness, mobilise support, encourage engagement of “eyes and ears”.



Use of soft approach may not work for hardcore fishermen bomber.



Surveillance and monitoring is needed



The device used has same theory with the application of any sounds, including explosions, submarines, bats and etc.



Phase 1: Collecting acoustic data.



Phase 2: Classifying the sounds; Build ‘classifier’ to isolate explosion of boats, etc.



Phase 3: Deployment



Final System: Send the sound via text messaging to mobile phones.

Questions: 1. Dr. Fred (Blue Life) : Where did the funding coming from to use the Coastal system monitoring device? Is it from NGO, Government or other funding sources? How much is the cost of the system used? Dr Liz : A total cost of the system is approximately RM90 000. Funding comes from Sabah Parks & current funding from the organization. The main cost is the software. The system is manageable. Enforcement activities to deter the fish bombing in those areas involve big costs. The cost of this system is small compared to the enforcement costs. 2. Kan Yaw Chong (Daily Express): Bombing materials comes from Tawau? Who provides? Capture that down & look for the supplier. Use resource i.e. Government, police, special branch to capture this supplier. Covering this for years (60 years). Must start doing something to overcome this issue. Dr Liz: Good point. Last year at Tun Sakaran marine park a vessel was found coming from the Philippines with fuses. They went to Semporna town. We knew which village but police didn’t do anything.

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3. Unknown: Based on assessment done to the illegal fishing activities, some people are doing this to try a new lifestyle, try to escape from his/her common activities or due to change of behavior or sometimes kind of forming a new chains. We should go to the fisheries association & include them in this movement. Direct & make them responsible to the coral reef. Summarize all these fact to the result from this workshop. Dr Liz : Agree with the fact that community change of behavior resulted this illegal activity. Some communities are praising those people who are doing fish bombing. Psychology aspects should be taken into consideration to address this issue. Robecca: I agree that we need to enhance our engagement with the fishermen associations. We have done some engagement in the past, and we can further our effort in channelling small scale fishermen, Persatuan Kapal Nelayan and larger fishing boats. One of it will be linking the subsidy support by the government to the fisherman to discourage the illegal fishing.

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3.3 Islamic environmental awareness programme with the special focus on curbing fish bombing in Semporna Presentation Islamic environmental awareness programme with the special focus on curbing fish bombing in Semporna Presenter

Habibah Yusah

Organization Semporna Project

Moderator

Monique Sumampouw

Note taker:

Islands

Ivoni Felix Betty Gaisong

and

Questions : 1. Monique: How is the reception of Imams in Semporna to MCS’s approach as you are a woman, the issue they raised commonly is about relationship between human and God only, how about the relationship of human and nature? Habibah: Jabatan Hal Ehwal Agama Islam Semporna is enthusiastic about the approach; they are experts in Islam teachings. Imam’s responsibility is to convince the community. How to behave & what action is needed in relation to nature. Imam-imam are quiet receptive of the idea. 2. Sofia: What was the initial reaction of the mosque imam’s when they 1st introduced the approach? Dr Liz: We had a workshop with the Imam to discuss the new approach. They learned about these issues. They really wanted to move forward. They are happy with the fantastic job. They really have been running with that. Next step, to do a workshop to find out the difference then. Are they really listening? Hab: On-going programme- launched Dec 2012. 3. Omar Bural: Adakah ikan yang kena bom haram di sisi agama Islam untuk dimakan? Adakah aktiviti bom ikan haram di sisi agama Islam? Di Indonesia kedua-duanya adalah diharamkan. (Is the bombed fishes are illegal to eat for Muslims ? Is the fish bombing illegal for Muslims? In Indonesia, both are considered as illegal.) Hab: Status haram atau boleh dimakan masih belum dapat dipastikan – bukan Jabatan Hal Ehwal Agama Islam (JHEAIN) yg putuskan. Keputusan mesti dibuat oleh pihak FATWAtermasuk aktiviti mengebom ikan (The status of illegal or not have not been confirmed, it is not under the jurisdication of JHEAIN, but under FATWA. It goes the same for eating the bombed fish and the act of fish bombing.)

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4. Rita (UMS): You said that the Imams are very enthusiastic in responding to the approach. But how about the enthusiasm among the communities? Hab: The programme was only launched Dec last year. However, the program in the mosque has ‘opened up the eyes’ of the community. They said that the approach is something new but the verses we used to spread the conservation messages, were actually has been written in Islam (Al-Quran) long time ago. Dr Liz: We will be organizing another workshop with the imams and will ask them how the community’s reactions in this workshop are.

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3.4 Resource Management and Livelihood Programme in Maliangin Sanctuary, within the proposed Tun Mustapha Park There were no discussions or questions forwarded after the presentation.

3.5

Identifying gaps in Efforts to Combat Fish Bombing in Semporna

Presentation Identifying gaps in Efforts to Combat Fish Bombing in Semporna Presenter

Choo Poh Leem

Organization WWF-Malaysia

Moderator

Monique Sumampouw

Note taker:

WWF-Malaysia

Ivoni Felix Betty Gaisong

and

Question : 1. Sofia (WWF): I might have to disagree with you that the community do not know about coral. The community went fishing every day, they must have some kind of knowledge on the coral reef. Poh Leem: Agree that half of them are aware of the importance of coral reef but not all. Alexa: Communities (i.e. community in Madagascar) all over the world might face the same problem. They think that coral is a rock and not alive. They don’t know it is really important. Their local language also shows that, the words they have for coral is similar or the same as rock/stone.

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3.6 Questions and Answers Session

Questions and Answers

Chairs

Robecca Jumin

Organizations WWF-Malaysia

Dr Elizabeth Wood

Moderator

Monique Sumampouw WWF-Malaysia

Marine Conservation Society Note taker:

Ivoni Felix Betty Gaisong

and

Question : 1. Dr. Fred (Blue Life): Why not approach the fishermen association to control fish bombing? Dr. Elizabeth: This is a lifestyle within the community; people will be praising the community who join to go against the fish bombing. Robecca (WWF): Agree that we may not have not engagedthe fishermen association enough. We did not directly channel issue of fish bombing through the fish association which is under LKIM, Fishing-Boat Association. We need formal channel to engage with. After which we could think about how we can use the mechanism to discourage illegal fishing. 2. Kan Yaw Chong (Daily Express): Sabah is a marine & seafood champion. Also fish bombing champion. We have been talking about this for years but there is no solution. Seafood champion, very profitable business. Need to have enough resources to match the multi-millionaire business man. No other resource to settle this except the government. Need some very big action & money to overcome this. Government agencies are urged to start to address this issue. Robecca (WWF): Totally agree that this problem is really serious and need to have drastic majors. Need strong political will. During Datuk Chong Kah Kiat time, he had been very determined to combat fish bombing; we have seen some changes on the ground. What we are doing here is really important but also need strong support from your enforcement agency. Extracts from the Call to Action from the Regional Anti-Fish Bombing symposium, fish bombing is recognised as a crime, and whoever is conducting the act is a criminal. The intrusion incident in Lahad Datu raised attention to our safety issue and the safety issue of our environment. Fish bombing is quite a threat to the fish act/security. Initiative to ensure human security through the proposed East Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) is an opportunity for government to take this issue into consideration. This kind of seminar is important to highlight fish bombing issues. 3. Kan Yaw Chong (Daily Express): We’ve been talking about fish bombing for 19 | P r o t e c t i n g C o r a l R e e f E c o s y s t e m s : C o m b a t i n g F i s h Bombing Activities

several years and still no changes until today. Why? Government need to step up with resources to act against/champion fish bombing. The seminar is not the answer to fish bombing. Robecca (WWF): This kind of seminar is important to highlight fish bombing issues. 4. Monique : Give a brief comment on how each of you that represent each organisation will working collaboratively as a team not individually. Robecca (WWF): We should work together and get support from the government. Nattelee (Reef Check): Work together and get current update and enough information from different agencies. Dr. Elizabeth: Enjoy working together and share our experiences. Poh Leem (WWF): This conference is a solid proof that we are working together for anti fish-bombing. Aziz (MICA): Start promoting the importance to stop fish bombing activity.

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Chapter 4: Pledges by Participants

I, Sherry anak Sigau from UITM Sabah can help to stop fish bombing by:1. Inform the responsible party if I see any fish bombing 2. Advise them to stop fish bombing

I, Azlinah Rahiman from UITM Sabah can help to stop fish bombing by:1. Telling my family members andfriends so that hopefully they can spread the news. 2. Spread through social network such as FB, twitter and Instagram 3. Report directly/punish if we see the fish bombing activityhappens 4. Advise them to stop fish bombing

I, Lola from Kota Kinabalu can help to stop fish bombing by:1. Set protected area 2. Limitation of fishermen that apply for license 3. Cooperate with marine police(Law & rules, other) 4. Advise them to stop fish bombing

I Rita Munan from UITM Sabah can help to stop fish bombing by:1. Establish a group or a club or an organization, for example fishermen organization(involve local people). They are the person who live near/by sea. So easy for them to patrol, control, yet to educate them. Involve all. Win-win situation 2. Advise them to stop fish bombing

I, Huzaimah from UITM Sabah can help to stop fish bombing by:1. 2. 3. 4.

Penalty for those who do fish bombing Sense of money Campaign awareness to the public Advise them to stop fish bombing

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I, Janet Jiun from Kota Kinabalu can help to stop fish bombing by:1. 2. 3. 4.

Bombing alarm People to monitor along the island Paste the important & picture of coral at billboard Campaigns

I, Katherine from UITM Sabah can help to stop fish bombing by:1. Held awareness among people 2. Take action to those who bomb fish 3. Increase no. of areas protected

I, Mohd Azmi Juan from Kota Kinabalu can help to stop fish bombing by:1. Awareness Campaign 2. Strong law to curb fish bombing 3. Person in-charge at every island to monitor

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Appendix 1: Media Cover

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APPENDIX 2 : Sessions’ Brochure

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APPENDIX 3: Powerpoint Slides 3.1: Fish Bomb Reporting System

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3.2: Combating Destructive Fishing in Sabah (Malaysia) using an innovative acoustic system

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3.3: Islamic Environmental Awareness Programme with Special Focus on Curbing Fish Bombing in Semporna

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3.4 : Resource Management and Livelihood Programme in Maliangin Sanctuary, within the proposed Tun Mustapha Park

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3.5: Identifying Gaps in Efforts to Combat Fish Bombing in Semporna, Sabah

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WWF-Malaysia (World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia), the national organization of the international conservation trust, currently runs more than 75 projects covering a diverse range of environmental protection work aimed to conserve our natural resources to secure our good quality of life and our children’s bright future. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature by: 1 Conserving the world’s biological diversity 2 Ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable 3 Promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful production WWF-Malaysia 49, Jalan SS23/15, Taman SEA, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia Tel: +603-78033772 Fax: +603-78035157 E-mail: [email protected] wwf.org.my