INSTALLATION ART BY THE BAY @ KK 2015 - Intro

Tracc is participating in INSTALLATION ART BY THE BAY @ KK 2015. we are building an art installation to demonstrate in a fun interactive way that the oceans are being abused, overfished especially for large sharks and polluted by plastic, which kills turtles.  Our art when it comes together emphasizing that there are an estimated 5,000,000,000,000 (5 trillion)  pieces of plastic in the worlds oceans and many of these have come together to create huge plastic concentrations.  The largest plastic island in the pacific is 10x the size of Sabah.

Biggest hammerhead shark in Borneo -
Sign in Malay says don't eat my fin!

As part of our GEF/SGP coral reef conservation project we are involving the local community in larger - global - issues to help thm understand that the protection they give to their reefs is only a part of a movement to help reverse environmental damage.  These pictures are the start of the construction process for the "biggest shark in Borneo".  Please follow the progress of this shark through our various social media.

Follow on Facebook, google+, twitter or instagram
simply search #tracc or #traccblog and let google do the work.

Dino and Shakirrah design the logo.

Khairul makes the head

Max and Miti Make the fin

Art requires serious concentration

Sign says Don't eat shark

International and local artists at work.

Yugen and lucas practice their skills.

Khairul makes the tail

Everyone had fun.

Making a shark makes a change from making a coral reef :-)

butterfly fish survey

To survey the biodiversity of fish around Pom Pom we have started doing surveys by family since we have such an abundant of fish species.

First one to go was Butterfly fish, the survey was done at the Northern Tip divesite.

We not only saw a good diversity of Butterfly fish, species to be published later, we also saw a big school of about 20 bumphead parrotfish with a clown trigger fish in the middle of the school, and so many other beautiful ocean creatures.
Maria

More info about learning to dive or volunteering to help save the ocean with TRACC in Malaysia - Turtle Snorkellers - Divers 

Fun diving

TRACC is not just conservation dives and diving courses, we also go fun diving. Myself, I love conservation dives, but sometimes it's nice to go out and just dive and appreciate all beauty around me.
Today was such a day, we got the privilage to see the beautiful ocean life and just enjoy.

The dive took place at a site called magic rocks which is in the south of Pom Pom island. Best time to dive here, in my opinion, is when the tides settled to avoid to strong currents. I like to do my dives slow.

Water temperature was 30 degrees, visibility about 17 metres and the sea was calm. Pretty perfect day here, nice to cool down in the water.

More info about learning to dive or volunteering to help save the ocean with TRACC in Malaysia - Turtle Snorkellers - Divers 

Razor fish

Rescue-unconsious, panicked and tired diver

Not bad for doing exercises

After yesterdays practice on land, today our Rescue students got to get into the water for their exercises.
So this morning they entered a perfectly calm ocean with a blue sunny sky above them.
They started in the shallows with a bit of practise, and then went out deeper for the different scenarios.

More info about learning to dive or volunteering to help save the ocean with TRACC in Malaysia - Turtle Snorkellers - Divers 

Unconscious diver

Our dive instructor Gon showing how to retrieve our unconsious diver

and then our students go to work

Notice the hand on the unconsious divers reg and inflation of her BCD

The sea is getting warm again

Cool yellow Nudi!

    The past few weeks were not exactly comfortable for diving due to the upwelling of cold seawater ( 24deg C), bad visibility due to the plankton blooms from the nutrients in the upwelling seawater and abundant clouds of zooplankton and strings of juvenile jelly fish. Thank goodness for stinger suits,  :-)  Fun dives were actually not so fun, work dives were typically torturous if we need to stay underwater for a long time (Work is work though, and it needs to be done). 

Giant Nudi!

So you can imagine how grateful we were when we realize the water has become warm this morning. The temperature was pleasurably cool at 27°C, and there was no stinging jelly fish anymore. Water is crystal clear now. On top of that, the sea seems more lively than usual: we saw fish spawning and many colourful nudibranch ^^

The upwelling is great for the Cambridge A level Marine science 9693 students, they have an on the door step example of how physical oceanography, changes the environment and the biology follows suit.  

We have watched offshore winds make the sea millpond calm but distinctly chilly, phyto plankton blooms turn the water green, then copepods eat the phytoplankton, and then clouds of small fish eat the copepods.  The whole food web process was happening in the sea in front of the classroom.   The best bits of course have been the whale sharks which came to eat the zooplankton and small fish.  As I write this there is a huge school of anchovies in the shallows trying to avoid being food for a larger fish by jumpig out of the wate in a shimmering wave.

More info about volunteering with TRACC in Malaysia - Turtle Snorkellers - Divers 

The Cambridge Marine science A level class 9693 starts mid January each year for exams in May/June.  The course is approximately 12 weeks and leads to a full A level.  All students to 2016 have done really well with amazing grades including the BEST marine science student in the world for 2 yearsw running (2015 & 2016). This course is ideal if you want to boost your qualificatons during a gap year or learn something useful while you travel.  Email info@tracc-borneo.org to find out more or make a booking.

TRANSECT PROJECT AT TIP OF BORNEO

   The Transect Project is carried out to survey the reefs around TOB. The purposes of this project include:

1. To look for potential sites of other TRACC projects (E.g. the on-going Bottle Reef Project for reef recovery)
2. To obtain data of reef condition (Required by the government for marine park establishment)

The project is indeed a tough one considering the number of factors we need to encompass. First we need to make sure that the research design is one that can produce accurate data of the reef condition. This is of course the first and foremost absolute rule of any scientific survey. Secondly, the device used must be durable enough to withstand the wear and tear over time, especially during monsoon season. Since we might be initiating new project on the surveyed reefs, we need resilient markers that can lead us back to the desired location in the future. Then, we need to consider the procedures of our in situ operation. We doubtlessly have a number of excellent divers and experienced researchers in the camp, but not everyone has good combined skills hence close cooperation is the key to work efficiency.

The project has been going on for about a month to date. We’ve completed data collection of more than half of all targeted sites despite the obstacles we met: rough sea condition, lost tools, malfunctioning compressor, terrible visibility, lack of experienced underwater researcher etc. etc…. I’m genuinely grateful that we’ve managed to pull things off so far. Pray that everything will go smooth from this point onwards and we can finish this project soon ;-)

More info about volunteering with TRACC in Malaysia - Turtle Snorkellers - Divers

Pom Pom revisited

bottle nurseries

Yesterday we revisited our Pom Pom camp in preparation for the re-build.
Here's the before pictures..... keep following our blog for the after-pictures coming soon :)
We also have bottle nurseries ready for deployment creating new habitat for marine life and to act as buffering from storms.

The view however doesn't need any fixing, it's perfectly amazing just as it is.

In a month the camp will be better than this :-) 
More info about volunteering with TRACC in Malaysia - Turtle Snorkellers - Divers

dive shop

bottle nurseries

Camp area

Kitchen

View

View

Moonset in TRACC TOB Camp

We’ve seen sunset so many times that we do not spend time to sit on the beach and enjoy the view anymore. But it was an exception last full moon. A number of the volunteers and staffs stayed awake (or sleeping) on the beach and waited long for the moon to set on the horizon.

This was what we saw =)

More info about volunteering with TRACC in Malaysia - Turtle Snorkellers - Divers 

Muck Diving in Kudat

Muck Diving in Kudat

        We all know scuba diving on a coral reef is an amazing experience, with colourful corals and an amazing array of marine life. With everything from spectacularly coloured fish to tiny shrimp, and all that’s in between.

        However, there is a whole world of weird and wonderful waiting to be discovered out on the sandy flats, which brings us to the often underestimated MUCK DIVE!

        Sure you won’t be instantly overwhelmed by the obvious beauty of a coral reef, but with a bit of patience and a keen eye the inhabitants of the muck are well worth the search.

        Out on the sandy flats of Kudat are some creatures you have to see to believe.

In this harsh environment lacking in shelter, the cunning creatures who call the muck home, are always on the lookout for cover, be it a discarded can or coconut husk.

        We have been building artificial reefs out in these baron environments, which has resulted in the reefs being swiftly populated, and left the surrounding sand flat teeming with life.

          The list of organism we at TRACC encounter includes: 

Mimic octopus

Frog fish

Ambon scorpionfish

Urchin carrier crabs

Snake eels

Sting rays

Sea horses

Ghost pipe fish.

         With such an impressive list of locals it can be hard to focus on the task at hand ;) but the work must go on.

         So the next time you’re on a dive and you see the sandy planes lurking just off the reef, head out there and explore, you may be rewarded with the treasures of the ocean not found by many.

          For more information on the exciting experience that is muck diving watch:

         ‘Mucky Secrets’ on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJMZ6reOB0E

More info about volunteering with TRACC in Malaysia - Turtle Snorkellers - Divers