Divers Visiting Sipadan Illegally

Posted Sep 8th 2006 7:56AM by Willy Volk
Filed under: Dive Sites, Media, Parks, Pacific

Sipadan As if Sipadan didn't have enough to worry about right now, Malaysia's local news service is reporting that an increasing number of divers are traveling to Pulau Sipadan illegally. The permitted number of divers per day is 120, but dive operators have actively ignored that law. In January, the average number of divers visiting the island was 141; April received the most visitors with an average daily diver count of 235.

When Parks officials discover illegal divers, they eject them from the park. Obviously, this has resulted in a strained relationship among divers, local dive operators, and the Park system. Reassigning permitting has been the government's first step in combating rogue diving in the area. However, it sounds like more stringent permitting isn't the solution; government needs to get the buy-in from the dive operators to limit the number of divers on the island, otherwise the point is moot.

[Via Asia Dive Site]

Reader Comments

(Page 1)

1. I'm getting heavyhearted from hearing all the sad news about Sipadan. That place is so beautiful, can't people just respect it?

Posted at 8:11PM on Sep 8th 2006 by Calvin Tang

2. Calvin: I wonder how many of these divers actually know they aren't supposed to be there, though. A lot of people decide to go diving somewhere, but don't necessarily research the rules & regs... either that, or they don't decide to go diving *until* they are there, then they have no way of researching that.

So much of that bureaucracy is hidden that tourists couldn't even find the info if they tried -- I was recently enlightened to the permit-oriented diving off of Maui, both shore and boat diving, added to Molokini regulations... it's incredible the paper!

-kb

Posted at 9:45PM on Sep 8th 2006 by kb

3. i think the dive operators and the government should work together to come up with a master plan for sipadan. limiting the number of divers per day would probably be a good idea but 120 divers per day is too small. i was there last april and im sure there were more than 120 divers per day on the island. probably the best way to help sipadan is to have stricter guidelines for dive operators and divers. i hope that they can preserve sipadan for other divers to enjoy in the future.

Posted at 8:26PM on Sep 10th 2006 by marge buot

4. We are traveling there this coming April 07. Staying at Kapalai Water Village. Am curious Marge about your trip. How many days, where did you stay etc?

Thanks

Posted at 8:35PM on Jan 11th 2007 by Gregg Witkin

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.

Florida governor and potential McCain running mate engaged Ring bearer pillows Romantic wedding dress by Alan Hannah	What happens when you get a sunburn Fishy, fishy calorie burn FitSpirit: A mind for marathons
Stylish summer reads Tip of the Day: It's the ROC! Aveeno sunblock for your face- it's a good idea	What's affinage and who's the affineur? Where do your favorite chefs like to eat? Champagne aimed at patriotic Americans
Super Vintage Weekend at the Hotel Marqués de Riscal Meche Pet Charms We Are Together, Charity of the Day	Move to Canada to survive climate change, says report But wait - Montana forest deal is not all good Pork raised naturally could be more dangerous than conventional