Fishing in Sipadan

DAILY EXPRESS NEWS Fishing at Sipadan? 01 June, 2005 Kota Kinabalu: A repeat visitor to Pulau Sipadan since1999 has alerted the public to what may be happeningto the island when no one is watching after 4.30pmunder the new ruling when all must return to Sempornaon the mainland. She based her concern after gathering evidence ofdamaged corals and fishing lines and the absence ofbarracudas. Even 20 dives there last week saw no sign of the famedschools of barracudas advertised worldwide whileplastic bags are beginning to invade the world classdive site with seemingly no one to pick them up,according to French journalist, Martine Carret. Other shifting baselines include less sighting ofturtles, jacks and the massive Humphead parrot fish. She also alleged that lots of abandoned fishing linesand damaged corals suggest that some people havestarted a fishing spree of late when nobody iswatching. A previous claim of damaged corals at nearby Pandanandrew a sharp rebuttal from the army. The publicationof what appeared to be a trawler with Sipadan in thedistance early this year was also refuted. Martine Carret, a veteran diving writer, said when shevisited Sipadan in 1999, she had a "very, very goodstay." "There were turtles everywhere. They even came to look at you and the reefs werereally wonderful. "You could go inside the whole school (of barracudas)whirling around you. There were schools of jackfishtoo. And very, very huge Humphead parrot fish spreadout such a big wall even my super wide angle lenscould not get everything in." In 2003, Martine who became a journalist since 1988and a diver with 600 dives all over the world, since1991, visited Sipadan a second time. "That's when I heard the resorts in Sipadan were goingto be closed. I was thinking maybe it's a good idea -a reserve where nobody was going to fish," she said.She did that last week in her third visit with husbandYann Saint-Yves. "But we came back very, very sad," she told DailyExpress. "There's a place called Barracuda Point butthe barracudas are all gone," she said. "I was told this was a marvelous place to see schoolsof barracudas but I never noticed any even in 20dives," he said. Fished out or migrated? Investigations are needed tosay one way or the other. Martine said while she alsosaw fewer turtles and fewer Humphead parrot fish,plastic bags were also becoming ubiquitous. "Every dive you would see six to 10 plastic bagsfloating and they are very dangerous because turtlesand dolphin think they are jelly fish, eat them anddie," Martine said. "Autopsies on dead turtles in all places usually findone thing - plastic bags in their stomachs." Not onlyare they in the waters, Yann picked up many largeindustrial plastic bags after a short 20m walk nearthe jetty. "Something happened in Sipadan (since the newruling)," Martine said. "When I came in 1999, the resorts were there. Theycleaned the beaches every morning. So, there was norubbish, no trouble with plastic bags." More disturbing news still is the jetty which used tobe a good place to sit and watch the beautiful sunset."This time, I didn't see much fish but a lot ofabandoned fishing lines tethered to the jetty.Somebody has been fishing there lately." Martine said she tried to remove the fishing lines andto her dismay, found many broken corals identified asAcropora Sp, just below the jetty. Apparently, the hooks got stuck in the corals and intheir attempts to pull the hooks free, they tore thecoals apart. Other lines got so entangled among the corals thatwhen she tried to free them, she managed to untangleonly one and said she hoped to give it to the tourismauthorities. "The line that I freed clearly shows shredded coralremnants all along it," she said. But just who are these culprits? It can't be diverssince they are given strict "no fishing" instructionsas part of the rules and regulations. No free visitorsare also allowed except authorised personnel. "So, I wonder who is doing all this fishing in Sipadannow. Before, when I was a guest, we did not want tofish because the jetty was the best place to see Jackfish." "I think one of the most difficult problems is thatall the boats arrive at the same time," she said."Before, the number of guests were limited - only 80.Now I see many boats and a lot of divers, all comingat the same time and departing at the same time," shesaid. After 2.30pm to 4.30pm, everybody had gone back toSemporna. "What goes on when they have left and nobodyis watching?" she asked. "When we were diving, we heard the bombing - bigexplosions," she said. In addition, she saw peopledismantling some of the resorts for the wood and they"go straight to the reefs, not the jetty." "We French take care of our country. When I drink, Ikeep the caps of my plastic bottle. My camerabatteries also go back with me. I don't leave myrubbish here. In France , there is a charity business of recyclingplastics and batteries. I take them with me and putthem into collecting bins in our supermarkets. So please do something, take care of Sipadan. This isyour country," Martine pleaded with Malaysians andauthorities in Sabah. "It's so nice here. I want to come back again becausethere are not many places where you can see so manyturtles," said Matine who writes for French divingmagazines, Oceans; Apnea, Partir Plonger (Let's GoDiving) - Plongee magazine.