Conservation

Scuba Junkie was set up by divers who have a love and dedication to the marine and terrestrial environment. We believe that as divers and snorkellers, we are fortunate to experience the joy and beauty of the underwater world and with this comes a duty to protect and conserve what we see.

Care for the local environment is therefore at the core of all our business operations. We hold ourselves to high responsible and eco-tourism standards and minimise our own adverse impacts on the marine environment through the implementation of eco-friendly practices and technologies.

This responsible, sustainable ethos starts with our resort and dive operations, and carries right through to the work of Scuba Junkie S.E.A.S, the dedicated conservation arm of the dive centre, founded in 2009.
Now a registered non-governmental organisation (NGO), Scuba Junkie S.E.A.S. has grown to have an extensive portfolio of conservation programmes in place – eco-resort, turtle conservation, shark conservation, coral conservation, cetacean conservation, tackling marine debris, and outreach.

Our aim is to ensure that the tropical coral reef ecosystem in our key areas flourishes and is kept from further degradation, and used in a sustainable manner that not just protects the ecosystem, but also helps to protect the livelihoods of the local communities here who rely on the ocean for sustenance and survival.
A lot of hard work has gone into getting to where we are today and it will take a lot more hard work to keep it going, but hopefully through the collaborative work of passionate individuals we can make a difference to our beautiful oceans and the lives of those that rely on them.

Due to a variety of threats worldwide, all species of sea turtles are now threatened with extinction. Scuba Junkie S.E.A.S has launched a number of projects aimed at alleviating some of the threats to sea turtles and work proactively for their conservation.

The Mabul Turtle Hatchery was launched in 2011 to stop turtle nest exploitation on the island and has to date released over 17,000 turtle hatchlings. Many guests to Scuba Junkie are fortunate to witness the release of turtle hatchlings by our team of dedicated Honorary Wildlife Wardens.

The Mabul Turtle Rehabilitation Centre was launched in May 2015 in collaboration with the Sabah Wildlife Department’s (SWD) Wildlife Rescue Unit. To date, 15 turtles have successfully been re-released, recovered from a variety of injuries and illnesses.

Marine conservation starts at home. We have made our resorts and dive operations as eco-friendly as possible.

We have taken several key steps to achieve this, including at minimum the installation of zero efflux sewage systems and renewable energy systems, dedicated recycling and water refill stations, and banned the use of single use plastics in our resorts. We also have a ‘no seafood’ policy at all of our resorts.

We are proud to be in the Top Ten Members of Green Fins since our initial assessment in 2016. Green Fins, internationally coordinated by the Reef-World Foundation, promotes a comprehensive approach that encourages dive centres and snorkel operators to reduce their environmental impacts.

Shark conservation was where it all began for Scuba Junkie S.E.A.S in 2009, to encourage better protection for sharks and rays within Sabah.
Scuba Junkie S.E.A.S’ shark conservation efforts now revolve around 3 key areas through the work of the Sabah Shark and Ray Initiative: pushing for better protection of particularly vulnerable species, pushing for the establishment of more Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and raising awareness of the importance of these apex predators.

All of our resorts are fortunate to be located within the Coral Triangle, the most biodiverse marine environment on the planet. Coral reefs have survived tens of thousands of years of natural change, but many of them may not be able to survive the havoc brought on by mankind. Scuba Junkie S.E.A.S have several ongoing projects for coral health and conservation.

A Reef Check Malaysia EcoDiver Trainer centre, we collaborate with Reef Check Malaysia to conduct annual Reef Check surveys in the Semporna region. These surveys allow us to monitor the long-term health of our reefs and can be used to inform management practices. Our regular surveys have enabled us to take action against threats to our reefs – including crown of thorn outbreaks.

We also have an ongoing coral reef restoration project, which trials a variety of techniques to determine the most suitable and successful cultivation method in our area using corals of opportunity.

Plastic pollution is a major global issue with an estimated 8 million tonnes of new plastic entering the world’s oceans every year. As well as being a global issue, it is also a major issue locally.

We are committed to being part of the solution, and this starts with leading by example. Prevention is better than cure – we minimise the amount of trash that is produced within the resort and recycle/up-cycle what we can, as well as banning single use plastic from our resorts.

We also carry out weekly clean-ups, where we bring as many people together as possible to remove rubbish from the beaches, forests and reefs around our resorts. For these efforts we often collaborate with local community members, grass-roots community organisations, NGOs and other dive operators.

We are also looking into technologies that would provide alternative methods for dealing with plastic waste and create a situation where plastics have commercial value to the local community.

Semporna has been identified as a key part of the Western Celebes Sea Drop Off ‘Area Of Interest’, as designated by the IUCN Marine Mammals Protected Areas Task Force, due to the high number of marine mammal sightings that have been reported in the area.

Scuba Junkie S.E.A.S is working with cetacean experts to enable training to be given to local dive operator staff, so we now receive good imagery and clear descriptions from such encounters.

Scuba Junkie S.E.A.S is also facilitating academic research in the area, to enable the systematic documentation of the marine mammals found in the region.