(MY) marine mammals face threats

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2007/07/09-New Straits Times

 

Marine mammals face new threats off Sabah, Sarawak

By : Sulok Tawie

 

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Dr Saifullah Ariffin Jaaman says threats were discovered during

surveys by scientists and researchers

 

 

KUCHING: Marine mammals, especially dolphins, face fresh threats off

Sabah and Sarawak.

 

They are now threatened by the loss or degradation of their habitats,

particularly mangrove forests, coral reefs and seagrass beds.

 

Dr Saifullah Ariffin Jaaman, a lecturer on marine mammal and fishery

sciences with Universiti Malaysia Sabah, said the threats were

discovered during surveys conducted on marine mammals in the two

states by scientists and researchers.

 

" Many jungles, especially upstream of rivers in the two states, have

been logged. The land is being cultivated now or turned into

large-scale oil palm plantations. "

 

Saifullah said this in a paper presented at a recent Conference of the

European Ce-tacean Society.

 

He said that these areas contained many drifting logs and debris,

especially during the northeast monsoon.

 

" In some areas left cleared, rain pushes sediments into the rivers and

bays. This increases the turbidity of the water, thereby decreasing

water quality. "

 

Waste, especially plastic bags, from urban and industrial areas, are

also a common sight in rivers near coastal towns.

 

Aquaculture farms have resulted in the loss of large areas of mangrove

along the eastern coast of Sabah. Much of it has also been chopped for

wood chips or firewood.

 

" Their disappearance has led to sediment erosion, water pollution and

loss of nursery habitats for young fish. "

 

This affected reefs and seagrass, Saifullah said.

 

The decline in fish resources in the region can be attributed to the

destruction of fish habitats, deployment of destructive fishing

methods and over-fishing, he added.

 

Saifullah said the rapid development of Sandakan and Tawau in Sabah

and Tanjung Manis and Muara Tebas in Sarawak into major ports and

industrialised towns might affect the natural habitats and behaviour

of the populations of Irrawaddy dolphins there.

 

In addition, a causeway running across Sungai Santubong (in Sarawak)

which completely cuts flow to the ocean and a barrage in Pending near

here that limits the flow of Sungai Sarawak to the ocean (through

Muara Tebas) pose problems to the natural migration routes of inshore

cetaceans in and out of the Sungai Sarawak.

 

Intensive petroleum exploration activities in waters off Miri, Bintulu

and Brunei might also affect fish and marine mammals, said Saifullah.

 

 

 

Although large whales such as the sperm whale and the false killer

whales were known to prefer areas near the continental slope or in the

deep-ocean waters, he said, aerial sightings showed they were in

shallow coastal waters.

 

" The whales probably venture into the area occasionally in search of

food, " he said, adding other marine mammal scientists had recorded

sightings of sperm, fin and false killer whales in waters over 1,500

metres deep off Sabah's coast.