Miri's coral reefs under threat from "ghost nets"

MIRI, Sept 22 (Bernama) -- The beautiful coral reef sites in Miri waters are is now under threat from "ghost nets" or discarded fishing nets left by irresponsible crew of fishing trawlers.

Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Miri branch chairman Iqbal Abdollah said during an underwater clean up conducted yesterday, a fishing net weighing about 50kg and 100 metres long discarded by a fishing trawler was  discovered at Seafan Gareden, one of Miri’s best dive sites.

"The net was quite new and  covered more than 3,000 square metres of beautiful coral reef such as Gorgonian Sea Fan, sea whips as well as other soft and hard corals,"he said in a statement here today, adding that there were more nets still left underwater but the divers were unable to be retrieve them due to bad visibility .

As such, Iqbal said there was an urgent need to protect the coral reefs and various underwater species from the "ghost nets” as it could threaten their survival.

The underwater clean up was undertaken by volunteers from MNS Miri, Co.Co. Dive Miri and CRK Elite Diving Brunei in conjunction with Miri's International Coastal Clean-up Day 2018, 55th Malaysia Day and International Year of the Reef 2018.

-- BERNAMA