Conservation in the Semporna islands

Sabah Parks issues exactly 254 Sipadan permits a day. This number covers both divers and snorkellers to cap the total people in the water. The system has evolved from historical caps of 120 and 176 to balance demand and conservation. You need an Advanced Open Water certification or equivalent to dive Sipadan and a permit day gives you 3 dives from Mabul, Kapalai or the Celebes Explorer and two from Mataking or Pom Pom from early morning until the afternoon. The entire island is completely closed every November. This mandated rest period gives the marine ecosystem an undisturbed month to recover from human presence.

Permits are issued against your full name and passport number. Rangers check passports at the jetty and permits cannot be transferred or resold. The 13 named sites at Sipadan include Drop-Off, Barracuda Point and Turtle Patch. The resident chevron barracuda school and bumphead parrotfish herds rely on the strict conservation quotas to thrive. Your Sipadan permit can be guaranteed with the right combination of resort, dive package and minimum number of nights. Which dates can be guaranteed depends on the resort you choose and the team steers you to the combination that fits. Read the guide on Sipadan permits to understand the system. Always plan for a 24-hour no-fly interval after your last dive.

Beyond Sipadan the Tun Sakaran Marine Park covers 8 islands including Bodgaya, Bohey Dulang, Sibuan and Mantabuan. The reefs here are recovering from historic blast fishing and non-profit groups run active coral-frame restoration projects specifically at Mantabuan to repair the seabed. Visitors also come for the Bohey Dulang viewpoint trail. This 600-metre climb requires proper footwear and a mandatory guide.

Further north in the Sulu Sea the Sugud Islands Marine Conservation Area covers 46,317 hectares around Lankayan. This strictly enforced no-take zone is managed by the Reef Guardian programme. Their use of marine radar tracking and certified Honorary Wildlife Wardens earned the area IUCN Green List status in 2022. The strict enforcement has resulted in a nearly seven-fold increase in turtle nesting compared to unmanaged years. Benthic surveys demonstrate a 47.25% average for live coral cover inside the boundaries. Fish biomass inside the boundary is measured at 39.5 kg per 250 square metres. Confiscated foreign fishing vessels have even been intentionally sunk here to create artificial reefs and relieve diver pressure on the natural fringing reefs.

Marine turtles and their eggs are protected under Sabah's Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997. Possessing or trafficking marine turtles or their eggs carries fines and prison sentences. The Sabah Wildlife Department trains resort staff and local community members as Honorary Wildlife Wardens to protect turtles on the islands.

Several resorts operate licensed hatcheries to protect the green turtle and hawksbill populations. Ask about the current hatchery programme when you arrive.

Mataking Island Resort has managed a structured hatchery since 2006. Supported by a May 2026 agreement with WWF-Malaysia and the Sabah Wildlife Department this hatchery is a critical sanctuary overseen by a resident marine biologist. The team uses the ShellBank DNA traceability toolkit alongside satellite telemetry to map nesting beaches. The island documented 119 hawksbill nests in 2025 alone.

Pom Pom Island Resort runs two turtle hatcheries to protect relocated nests. Ask the resort about the current programme and opportunities to learn about the hatcheries.

Borneo Divers Mabul Resort has a smaller hatchery than Scuba Junkie's Mabul Beach Resort and works with Universiti Malaysia Sabah on turtle conservation events in May and November. Guests visiting at other times should inquire locally about the current hatchery programme.

Scuba Junkie's Mabul Beach Resort supports its hatchery through rewards for local people who report turtle nests. The on-site rehabilitation centre operates year-round in direct collaboration with the Wildlife Rescue Unit.

Historical blast fishing reduced parts of the Semporna reef slopes to unstable fields of dead coral rubble. Natural coral struggles to anchor on these loose slopes because shifting rubble crushes the new polyps. Groups like the Tropical Research and Conservation Centre rebuild stable surfaces where coral can grow. They build bottle reefs from recycled glass and use soft netting to bind the rubble together to slow its movement down the reef wall. They have planted more than 75,000 coral fragments onto these newly stabilised structures.

Technological interventions also help eliminate the root causes of reef damage. Environmental coalitions pilot acoustic detection technology in the waters off Semporna using submerged hydrophones. The system recognises the sound of an underwater blast and alerts authorities to its location within 60 seconds so they can respond quickly.

The reefs of Semporna are full of life, fiercely defended and in a state of active recovery. When you dive here today you see marine biodiversity living alongside the realities of climate change and historical blast fishing. The beauty of Semporna lies in the aggressive conservation pushing back against these threats. You can support the reef's recovery by taking care around the coral on every dive.

Deep-water upwelling along the steep 600-metre walls pulls cold water from the Celebes Sea to the surface to act as a natural thermal shield. Tidal mixing in the Sibutu Passage flushes the reefs with cooler water to mitigate the extreme surface heat.

Beneath the surface surviving corals adapt by expelling heat-sensitive algae and recruiting thermotolerant species like Durusdinium trenchii. Surviving reefs are still vulnerable to secondary predators like Drupella snails and Crown-of-Thorns starfish. Corals exude chemical stress signals that turn weakened reef patches into feeding grounds. Local marine conservation groups actively physically extract these predators to keep the coral safe. Over 2 days in June 2026 local community divers manually extracted 1,318 Crown-of-Thorns starfish from high-density reefs in Semporna.

You can provide tangible support to the ecosystem on every dive. Responsible operators adhere strictly to environmental norms. A reef recovering from thermal stress is exceptionally brittle so perfect buoyancy is vital. Be sure to maintain a strict no-touch policy to avoid damaging fragile new polyps. Diving gloves are universally banned for recreational divers here. Never feed marine life to ensure you do not disrupt natural foraging habits.

Chemical UV filters like Oxybenzone act as skeletal endocrine disruptors and they are highly toxic to coral larvae. Even small concentrations of oxybenzone can harm coral larvae before they settle on the reef. You must exclusively use physical barrier sunscreens like non-nano titanium dioxide or zinc oxide to prevent contamination. Choosing operators that send small groups also limits accidental physical impact on the reef structure.

• Sipadan
• Tun Sakaran Marine Park
• Lankayan
• Mataking Island Resort
• History of diving at Sipadan

Send your travel dates, the names of everyone coming and your current dive certification. The team comes back to you with exactly what can be arranged for a responsible dive trip.