KOTA KINABALU: Local Bajau-Ubian villagers of Pulau Mantanani will be roped in to become divemasters for the island, whose coral reefs often face threats from fish bombing activities.

       A diving promotion group, Travel Box Sabah, is working with resort operator Sutera@Mantanani to promote Mantanani diving site as a local attraction as well as help young local villagers become divemasters.

       Travel Box operational manager-cum-dive master Dean Lee said that fish bombing activities were usually done out of ignorance and a lack of awareness on the importance of preserving the coral reef.

       "Our dive masters are well-educated on the importance of sustainable fishing and preserving the coral reef.

       “Once you’ve gotten to know the ocean better and it becomes your source of livelihood, you will take great pride in preserving it. Hopefully, this awareness will catch on within the fishing community, slowly but surely,” Lee added.

       Sutera Magellan Resort executive general manager How Wei Chan said that the tourism industry would begin to create a new career path and upskilling opportunity for local youths from the neighbouring villages in Mantanani.

       Mantanani Island, which sits on the west coast of Sabah, is lesser-known as compared to the other dive sites like Sipadan on the east coast.

       The island boasts some of the better and healthy coral reefs with nearly 40% of the island being dominated by a live coral cover, mainly consisting of hard coral (according to the 2021 Reef Check Malaysia annual survey report).

       Mantanani island has about 19 dive sites, including three nearby dive wrecks dating from World War II. The island is a 90-minute boat ride from the city here.