Senseless Killing

I cant believe it...I mean I knew about it quite sometime back. Back then, some of the divers who witnessed this butchery actually made some 'noise'. It came out in the papers, with them promising to do some investigative reporting and come out with the answers from the relevant authorities. But at the end of the day, it all died in silence...as dead as the sharks themselves.

What am I rambling on here, you may ask? At a 'M' island, neighboring to Sipadan island and a few other exotic places, dead sharks, killed or rather butchered by the dozens elsewhere, were processed. The following is an extract from an eyewitness email to me...

" I obviously don't know the name of this place..only that it is in M**** island and it is just at the opposite of Big John home stay. Apparently, they brought in these sharks a few times a week.. sometimes 20 - 40 at a time....

Anyway, they say it was from the international waters but have a look at their boats...secara logiknya, bot kecik macam tu mana la for deepsea fishing kan? "

How can this be? The M* island is one of the popular place for divers to stay, who come from all over the world to make a pilgrimage to Sipadan (no resort on Sipadan), a world heritage site. After years of battling for Sipadan at the international level, and finally winning the case, we just had to display these scenes to our international visitors?

I cant think of a reason for these senseless killings. No matter where they caught them, we must stop these killings if we were to preserve marine life for our sons & daughters. Some would argue that its the local indigenous people's way of getting an income. Maybe true...but the relevant agencies must educate them, or get them involved in a fish rearing project. They could even get them more involved in the local tourism industry, as done elsewhere in the world.

The other question that comes to my mind is the levy that every diver has to pay when diving off Sipadan. Why hasn't that translated into better things for the visitors? Nothing fancy...just repair the jetty and the toilets, or maybe some huts when divers rest while doing their surface intervals. I had once seen a Mat Salleh who's leg got caught when the jetty's plank flooring gave way. Lastly...I leave you with a photographic evidence why I think its nauseating.