Our first dive at Mataking was a short boat ride to a reef called "Sweet Lips". Now, I have to say that after the current in Sipadan, Mabul and Kapalai, I wasn't looking forward to any heavy exertion but I was told that the current around Mataking is stronger. However, I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't... the powers that be took a pity on me I think. Anyways, after the beauty of the resort, I was prepared for something along those lines underwater as well... I was wrong. The pictures on the Mataking website was misleading. Upon descent, the horror of the devastation absolutely took my breathe away. It isn't an exaggeration when I say that 85% of the corals surrounding Mataking is DEAD... due to the effects of fish bombing unfortunately. In fact, fish bombing was only made illegal about 2 years ago in that area but unfortunately, corals take a long time to regenerate and even after two years of "safe time", they aren't growing back. Shocking is an understatement. Unfortunately, most of the dive sites around Mataking are like that, some worst off than others. We had 1 or 2 good coral dives there... one at Pulau Bohayan, about 20 minutes from Mataking (like a coral oasis amongst all the damage) and another, Coral Garden.

A rock fish in plain sight, out in the open, camouflaged amongst the dead corals Source: PufferGal Cam

Despite the ban on fish bombing, I don't think that the corals around the area are going to be saved. Why? Well, for one, the dive masters there aren't of the same caliber as Sipadan Water Village and two, irresponsible divers. I'll get back to that later. Fish bombing or blast fishing as it is sometimes called is a very destructive and wasteful method of fishing (am getting this from a WWF pamphlet called "Coral Reefs"). So it goes on to say... "a bomb is exploded in the water, totally destroying an area several metres in diameter. This kills not only the fish, but also coral and any other reef inhabitants caught in the blast. Far more fish are killed than can be collected. The fishers can also be hurt if the bomb goes off prematurely." The destruction was VERY evident in Mataking . Having said that, the diving there is still good, actually VERY good if one is after macro stuff. More on that later.

It was VERY clear the the dive masters (DM) aren't as professional as the ones in Sipadan Water Village. Why? Well, the DM that we had didn't really brief us a whole lot before our dives. Of course the basics were covered e.g. maximum depth, dive time etc but the DM didn't warn the divers to keep their equipment in check, not to kick stuff etc. The DMs at SWV were literally trying to hammer that message in on every dive. Also, I noticed that our DM wasn't very careful too... at a fair few times, kicking up the coral and once, actually breaking it. I didn't like our DM a whole lot, as a dive professional.

Oh my gawd... then there were the other divers. Now, bear in mind that I am somewhat of an environmentalist who is dating a dive geek / professional who also tries to spread the message. Anyways, the divers that were on the trip weren't very environmentally aware... in fact, a few of them were graduates of the same dive school (which probably explains why they were such atrocious divers, despite their being "experienced" and all that). Most of the divers we met in Mataking were from Penang and most of them were kicking corals left, right and centre. In fact, 75% of them had their equipment dangling out, dragging through the sand and hitting the little remaining corals. This was SAD... so much so that the BF had a talk with the dive manager himself and requested this problem to be fixed. Twice he spoke to the dive manager about the irresponsible divers staying at the resort. The dive manager did talk to his DMs and the problem was fixed, somewhat but the divers that were there... oh lordi lordi lordi... I just wanted to cut some of their air hoses or drown them!

One diver really stood out: this lady from Penang who is an experienced diver no less. Anyways, after dinner one night, upon careful scrutiny of the beach learns that it is CRAWLING with hermit crabs... so she decides to go take a walk to have a closer look at them. What does she do? Well, armed with a torch and plastic bag, she comes back with a bag teaming full with no less than 20 live crabs... all still in their shell, wriggling and squirming like you wouldn't believe. She plonks it down on the table, in my direct line of sight. So I ask her, what's in the bag. And she goes... "hermit crabs". I go "so what is it doing on the table?" and she goes "I want to take the shells home". Bear in mind that this is all happening with me clenching my toes and fingers under the table for not only is this environmentally unfriendly but it is downright CRUEL, unnecessary and truly SELFISH!

So, gritting my teeth (literally) I go, "are you aware that this isn't good for the environment and that in certain areas, it is against the law and you could get fined up to RM25,000?"
She goes "are you sure?". This is the point where I just wanted to slap her on her head. Crabs are squirming like you wouldn't believe now.
Then I go "yes, it is NOT good for the environment and it is against the law and as a diver, you should know this".
She keeps quiet.
I ask her what she is going to do about it.
She keeps quiet.

As she is a client of the BF, I opt not to pursue it, bid everyone good night and leave the table. Yes, I said this in front of a lot of people. The BF, bless his soul knew that I was upset and followed me a few minutes earlier, AFTER talking to that ignoramus. Apparently he asked her what she was going to do with the crabs. The dolt actually thought that she would take the crabs back to Penang with her. He came straight out and told her to put the crabs and shells back. He is more diplomatic and less emotional than me and he got the message across.

Then, there was yet another one (from Penang and probably the same dive school no less) who on his very last day decided to take some souvenirs back home. This included shells (with no living creatures in it) and bits of dead coral. LOVELY. I tell him that it is irresponsible and he just laughs it off. I tell him that it is wrong and he said that they are dead anyways. I really wonder sometimes about the level of common sense and responsibilities of some divers. They ought to get their licenses revoked. After the "strictness" of SWV, these divers and dive masters came as a rude shock to me.

Diving at Mataking

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