In Celebration of World Turtle Day, May 23 2014, Scuba Junkie are hosting a week of conservation, education and fundraising.

Mabul Sea Turtle Week seeks to promote the importance of Sabah’s marine ecosystems, particularly the sea turtles and the importance of Malaysian efforts in their conservation. The key attraction of the week will be the construction and opening of Mabul’s first turtle rehabilitation centre, which will treat and rehabilitate sick and injured turtles for their release back into the wild – an important new step for turtle conservation on Mabul.

The team are also organising the first five hour sponsored Dive Against Debris Reef raising funds online.

“We have chosen 5 hours because this is the average amount of time a resting turtle can spend underwater on one breath! We will have two teams doing this clean up and all donations make a difference,” said Cat Cassidy.

Rubbish in the ocean is a major cause of death to many marine organisms including turtles. Sea turtles numbers have dramatically declined, placing all seven species on the IUCN (The World Conservation Union) Red List of Threatened Species.

Sea turtles face so many threats around the world, one of the most serious is the amount of rubbish in our oceans. Plastics in the ocean are mistaken for jellyfish and ingested by turtles. The plastics sit in the turtle’s stomach and prevents the turtle from feeding, leaving the turtle to slowly starve to death. Turtles can also become entangled in debris and drown.

The Scuba Junkie team know how to make conservation fun with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Party and a daily competition - 'Guess the amount of Turtles Seen Today.'

A big thanks to Scuba Junkie and good luck with you Five Hour Sponsored Dive Against Debris.

Interested in fundraising? Set up your own personal fundraising page at www.finathon.org