KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Parks have conducted a preliminary investigation into claim that a dive operator allowed a tourist to catch and play with a protected sea turtle that has gone viral on social media.
Its director, Dr Jamili Nais, in a statement yesterday stressed that it was however not possible to ascertain where the photos were taken and the area where the incident had occurred.
“I am surprised and disappointed by the incident because the dive operator is a well-known five star PADI dive operator, based at a reputable resort in Semporna.
“We have done a preliminary investigation and enquiry but it is not possible to ascertain the island where they dived (definitely not Sipadan Island and we have no reason to believe this occurred at one of our marine parks) because we were told that the boatman involved had resigned in May and they had no way of contacting or identifying the tourist concerned.
“We have also communicated this to the Wildlife Department and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia (MoTAC) and they are also investigating,” Dr Jamili said in a statement yesterday.
He said he is very concerned over the social media and webchat postings regarding the unethical behaviour of some dive operators and their foreign tourists, in the handling and harassing marine life such as marine turtles, coral fishes, puffer fish and starfish.
Sabah Parks, he stressed, strongly condemns such unethical behaviours, regardless of whether these occurred inside or outside its Marine Park.
In general, Dr Jamili pointed out the dive industry is self-regulatory and most dive operators are ethical.
“On Sabah Parks’ part, we will continue our law enforcement patrols. We are appointing four dive marshals for Sipadan by next month.
“We are also in discussion with Reef Check Malaysia regarding the implementation of a certification mechanism for ethical diving, for example, the ‘Green Fin’ certification programme. We shall also continue with our other ethical diving awareness and education programme,” he said.