Labuan Marine Park or locally known as Taman Laut Labuan consists of 3 islands namely Pulau Rusukan Besar, Rusukan Kecil and Pulau Kuraman. Offering spectacular beauty with its fields of colourful coral reefs and marine life, Labuan Marine Park is just about 30 minutes boat ride from Labuan island.
Reminder at Labuan Marine Park
Don’t stand on coral
Don’t walk upon or stand on coral, as this can kill the living coral polyps that are the builders of the reef structure.
Consider a flotation device (placed under chest) if you’re not the best of swimmers and never stand on coral to adjust mask.
Swim well and clear of the reef and kick to keep head out without the possibility of kicking the reef or search for a sandy or coral free shallow place to stand.
Don’t touch, pickup or hold reef life, and never pull octopus from their habitats.
Anchoring is prohibited
If mooring buoys are not available, use a sand type anchor placed in sand well away from any reef formation and up wind (or tide) from where you want to dive, then allow the boat to drift into position near the reef.
Always check that the anchor is well secured in the sand before diving on the reef.
Even experienced divers have at some time in their life accidentally bumped or broken coral, so the inexperienced should be particularly careful.
Avoid harassing reef life
Reef animals are easily stressed and harassing them can disrupt feeding and mating behavior.
Avoid littering
Litter endangers marine marine life and spoils the reef’natural beauty. Throw litter in a bin or take it back with you.
Do NOT touch the coral
A careless mistake could wipe out a whole community. Coral reefs are the essential breath for a vast and still unknown marine life. The zoothanthellae which live in the coral, provides the essential oxygen for the coral to live and proliferate.
Without the algae, the reef would not grow and without the coral, a score of marine organisms would not exist. When coral reefs are foolishly destroyed by the use of chlorine bleach or other deadly chemicals for fishing practices, this kills the algae and corals.
When you destroy the coral, you strangle the marine life of its breath and deprive our future children of nourishment from the sea.
Long-Term Consequences of Damaging Reef
Damaging the coral reefs at Labuan Marine Park leads to several severe, long-term consequences for both the environment and future generations:
- Collapse of Marine Biodiversity: Coral reefs provide the “essential breath” for a vast array of marine life. Because the zooxanthellae (algae) living within the coral provide the oxygen necessary for the reef to thrive, destroying the coral effectively “strangles” marine life, leading to a state where a wide variety of marine organisms can no longer exist.
- Permanent Loss of Reef Structure: Coral polyps are the primary builders of the reef structure. Physical damage—such as walking or standing on them—kills these polyps, while chemical damage from fishing practices kills the essential algae. Without these living components, the reef cannot grow or proliferate, leading to the eventual disappearance of these spectacular natural formations.
- Food Insecurity for Future Generations: The destruction of these ecosystems has a direct human impact by depriving future children of nourishment from the sea. As the reef dies and the marine organisms that depend on it vanish, a vital source of food and resources is lost.
- Disruption of Natural Behaviors: Even non-destructive harassment of reef life can have long-term effects by stressing animals and disrupting their critical feeding and mating behaviors, which are essential for maintaining healthy populations over time.
Labuan Marine Park is managed by
Pejabat Perikanan Negeri WP Labuan
Phone: 087-415 881
Email : labuanfish@dof.gov.my