The Downbelow crew found yet another illegally dumped fishing net on one of the most popular reefs in Tunku Abdul Rahman Park Borneo. Many animals were trapped dead or dying & the reef smothered when we found it.

Downbelow Managing Director Richard Swann quickly assembled a team of 11 strong divers to go and take care of the menace. After a quick briefing we set to work & thankfully the job was completed successfully! 

We also released many live creatures and thankfully the net can no longer kill as it has been removed.

Downbelow actively remove any net we find even at our own cost and we also spread the message to divers who discover any ghostnet in this part of the world & find it difficult to remove them to please report it to us & the local authorities that is Sabah Parks.

Big thanks to our team who work so hard on these tricky net removals, to date we have removed more than 100!

Nets are used by fishermen close to reefs as the yield is higher however once the net is snagged on the fragile reef structure they have no choice but to cut & let it drop to become an underwater disaster that is unseen by most people.

Net damage & illegal fishing is probably the biggest threat to the local park and we are very eager to support the local authorities by doing everything we can to make this a sanctuary for the marine animals.