With our recent visit from our friends SEASFiRE, Mont Kiara International School in Kuala Lumpur assisted our team of PADI professionals to remove an illegally discarded fishing net from a coral reef in Tunku Abdul Rahman marine park.

There has been a significant increase in marine debris found in the parameters of the protected area, particularly illegally dumped nets. This could be due to the ever-increasing demand of seafood to keep up supplies to the evermore-increasing numbers of visitors to Kota Kinabalu!

However, these pressures need to be addressed with practices and regulations to offer a sustainable approach so as not to create an imbalance to our marine environment.

Student divers from SEASFiRE learnt a great deal about the problems our local area faces, as well as preventative measures, marine protection and conservation. Our PADI Instructors involved in the net removal with the student divers, were local Go PRO interns Azhar and Mac and their mentor resident Platinum PADI Course Director Richard Swann. 

All our divers experienced a sense of goodwill after removing the ‘ghost net’, and their positive action inspires both recreational and professional divers to contribute to the Project AWARE campaign in aid of eliminating marine debris.

We must commit to these efforts to gradually improve the condition of our natural environment!