Marine conservation projects

We have a number of ongoing marine conservation projects and a number of projects that we are trying to develop.  Download PDF project summary).   You would be very welcome to participate in our existing projects or if you have a large group of people, a CSR budget or even some great ideas; we would be happy to work with you.

The proposed projects below are ones that are trying to get started.  We have other ideas that are still being developed so if you want to get involved with marine conservation join our existing projects or help us start a new one.  (Updated Dec 2012).

 

 

 

 

Our Motto is protecting the ocean:

one coral, one turtle and one shark at a time.

Ongoing Marine Conservation projects

Pom Pom Island, Semporna, Sabah

Coral planting & Reef restoration – this is the core project for our volunteer programme.  All reef life starts with coral so we are replanting reef to speed up the process of regeneration.  More details on how to participate here. We also need help to measure the success of our coral planting.  Can you observe the survival success of baby fish and work on our larval fish survey.

Reef surveys – we do reef surveys as a baseline and monitoring for the success of our coral planting & reef restoration efforts.

Turtle protection – We are stopping turtle nest poaching, recording turtle abundance and clearing the beaches of trash to help the turtles (more).  Become a Turtle Volunteer here.

Biodiversity Surveys – We are conducting biodiversity surveys to document all the species that occur on Pom Pom Island.  Some of the amazing species we see are here.

Marine protected area development – The area we work has many of the attributes for a MPA for both sharks and turtles.  We are working on the documentation and process to achieve MPA status.

Kalapuan School  – The local village on the next island has no school. More than 100 children do not get any form of education.  If we educate them they can get real jobs ( mechanic, boatman, dive instructor, cleaner, maid), if they have no education they can only become fishermen or mothers.  The area doesn’t need more fishermen or more children!.

 

Sabah Projects

Sabah Sharks Survey – We are actively surveying for sharks in Sabah whenever possible – results here

Action Plan for Sharks in Sabah – We have been actively campaigning for sharks and our lobbying and science has achieved great results.  We do not have a total ban on shark fishing yet but we have some successes.  The story so far is here

Conservation of the rarest shark in the world – the Borneo river shark is confined to the Kinabatangan river, and has not been photographed since 1996.  We have made several trips to find the shark and have identified fishermen who occasionally seen the sharks.  More details here

 

Global projects

Global Shark Survey – We are leading the data collection for the global shark survey.  Recent and historical data for sharks from divers around the world. – results here

Proposed marine conservation projects

Marine conservation education centre for schools and tourists in Semporna.

Shark pinup calender for mechanics in China. – details here

Protecting the Hammerheads of Sipadan, Hearts and minds project for marine conservation education for schools and communities in Sabah. – details here

Cleaning up the beaches and recycling the trash. – details here

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also teach marine biology courses, & marine research projects. All of our work focuses on a coral reef conservation issue and creates solutions.  Our current projects are on sharks, turtles &, coral planting,

We also offer short term marine conservation trips, or longer volunteer expeditions. or turtle volunteering

Click this link for our Volunteers in action - Recent activity on Facebook