The PADI Open Water Diver Course teaches us that a dive knife can be a useful tool to carry when diving but in many cases we forget to keep one with us, i recently found myself in this very position.

On a dive at Sulug Island in the TAR Park, Kota Kinabalu such a tool would have been very useful and i for one learned a valuable lesson in remembering to pack this rarely used tool.

We discovered an abandoned 10m long fishing net tangled among the corals, posing real danger for the surrounding marine life which includes the endangered Hawksbill and Green Turtles.

Various crustaceans had already perished after becoming entangled which attracted other animals to feed on the remains, putting them in danger also.

After 20 minutes we managed to free one Lobster - had we been carrying a knife the process would have been much quicker, suffice to say the creature survived.



Fortunately we were able to revisit the dive site the following day with a cutting tool and after an hour of hard work remove the net from the reef and dispose of it safely on land.

In many cases it is better to just cut up the net and leave it in place because more damage can be done to the delicate corals when trying to remove it. So long as marine life cannot become entangled in the net then it can remain in place causing little harm.

Questions as to why anyone was fishing within this National Park is for another discussion but the lesson learned here is as divers carrying a dive knife can be very useful because sadly from time to time we do encounter disregarded fishing nets that pose hazards for marine and human life.

Thanks to Spencer Steadman for the images and his patience and assistance during the dive.

For more information on the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, please read our dedicated pages.

A web-site has been created to host a petition against "Whaling for Scientific Research"

Every year thousands of precious mammals are slaughtered in the name of so-called 'scientific research'. Add your voice by signing this campaign then forwarding it everyone you know. They hope to obtain 1 Millions names on the list and they've almost achieved this ambitious target.

Please help to stop the killing.



www.whalesrevenge.com

I've never really given much consideration to what happens to my toilet waste after i pull the chain. At home of course its treated at dedicated plants and disposed of correctly - but what about when we stay on a beautiful tropical island or stilt resorts over the ocean, where does it go then ?

The truth is in some cases our sewage can be extremely detrimental to our environment, especially within small islands where government treatment plants are not available.

Take for example the situation on Sipadan Island, where ground water became polluted due to untreated wastewater, sewage seeped out to the sea and polluted the surrounding ocean.

Forward thinking Kapalai Dive Resort and Lankayan Island Resort in Sabah Borneo both use the Hydroponics system to treat all sewage and wastewater before it is discharged to the open sea.

The waste is pumped through several large containers containing plants and ozone which filter the bacteria and harmful microorganisms and purify the water. At the same time plants absorb their required nutrients and enrich the water with O2.

This responsible method of treatment not only produces clean water that can be re-used but also irrigates the resort plant nursery and so saves on water consumption.

The initial set up cost for such treatment systems is fairly expensive and every year they must be maintained - this is perhaps why other resorts are not adopting the same concept.

However with growing environmental awareness we as guests should support resorts that genuinely adhere to responsible sewage and waste disposal practices. They may be slightly more expensive than others in the area but in our opinion this is for good reason. Sadly we have witnessed how some budget resorts save money and its the environment that pays the ultimate price.

We will certainly be voting with our feet and support places that we feel make efforts to not only protect their surrounding environment but also not harm it.

To our knowledge the only two resorts to use this in Sabah are those mentioned above.

Featured in this months Australian Sport Diving Magazine is our Mating Mandarinfish article - Spawning Splendidus.

Images within the piece show how these beautifully stunning little creatures mate and how we as mere mortals can visit and photograph their delightful habits.

You can subscribe to the magazine online and/or read the article at http://www.divetheblue.net.

Why are the people of Japan burying their heads in the sand over their countries whaling practices?

Through travel we meet many Japanese people and from our experience they are kind hearted. Why then are they standing by or in some cases applauding their government's decision to send a fleet of whaling boats to sea today intent on slaying and processing more than 1,000 whales, 50 of which are the protected and threatened Humpback.

Whalers claim they are continuing a tradition however when the practice began in the 1700's it was only a few family owned businesses with handheld harpoons that went out to coastal waters and bought back small numbers of whales, not factory fleets going as far afield as the Antarctic pulling in more then 1,000 each a year.

Japan is trying to encourage the younger generation to eat whale meat from the 400 or so animals caught every year through so called "scientific research".

What consumers are not told is that the blubber of dead whales in some areas is so highly contaminated with organochlorines such as PCBs and pesticides that it would be classified as toxic waste! Organochlorines are known to damage development of children and affect reproduction.

It is suggested that most people of Japan are not interested in eating whale meat, if so surely in a so called democratic country if they spoke out against their governments whaling practices and refused to eat the meat the whalers and government would have no choice but listen and the rest of the world would think better of the country and its people.

The brave men and women of Greenpeace are following the fleet that departed today with the sole objective to stop as many whales as possible from being slaughtered.

Please visit their website and follow the expedition to the Southern Ocean.

Conservation efforts by the staff and management of Kapalai Dive Resort continue with the construction of artificial reef systems located in front of the dive station.

Adding to an already established collection of small wrecks the recently sunken boats and purpose built wooden constructions will in time become part of the natural environment providing shelter, protection and food for surrounding marine life.

With worldwide coral reefs in decline space comes at a premium.

An artificial reef system creates its own biomass where coral polyps develop and cover the steel and wooden debris, thus providing extra room for species to develop.






Wildlife concentrates on these reefs and in many cases enhances the development of rare species.

To name but a few Kapalia's artificial house reef is already home to Painted and Clown Frogfish, Harlequin Ghostpipefish, Giant Grouper, Butterfly and Angelfish, various members of the Scorpionfish family and the endangered Bumphead Parrotfish.

The resorts vision in creating this new habitat is, in our opinion to be commented.

Not only will it ease human pressure by divers on natural reefs in the area, it also provides another attraction should Sipadan be privatised or off limits to divers for an amount of time in the future.

Kapalai's House Reef is located a giant stride from the Dive Center

Please visit our Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort section for more information and images of the area. Should you wish to book a trip contact us and we'll put you directly in touch with the resort.

Although we have always enjoyed the challenges of basic accommodation at the Kinabatangan River, new luxury rooms at Bilit Adventure Lodge are a real treat.

Twin, Triple and Double bedded rooms with air-con and hot showers have been built and provide a very comfortable stay at the lodge.

A visit to Sabah would not be complete without visiting this region which is acknowledged by experts to be the most varied and easily accessible river in all of Southeast Asia.


Bird lovers will find the bird watching incredible: all 8 of Borneo's hornbill species are seen regularly.

Please visit our Borneo Bird section to see just some of our images from the area

Throughout various trips we've been fortunate to see Proboscis Monkey, Langurs, Orang Utan, Saltwater Crocodiles, Pygmy Elephants and the list goes on and on.

Please see our Kinabatangan River section for more images and info.

Should you wish to visit the region we highly recommend Bilit Adventure Lodge, not only do they have new luxury accommodation rooms they also offer fan and dormitory options.

You can book direct with them by email or visit their Sepilok website at Sepilok Jungle Resort. another resort well worth a visit and owned by the same family.

We are currently upgrading our webservers and have experienced some emails going astray. If you have contacted us within the last few days and we have not replied, please resend your mail once we have posted that we are back to normal. We apologize for any inconvenience caused. If your enquiry is urgent please fill in the form on the Contact Us page, this will find its way to us.
Problems resolved on 5.07.07.

A common misconception of Mount Kinabalu is that a visit means conquering the summit which is simply not the case.

Mount Kinabalu is a comfortable 1-hour 40 minute drive from Kota Kinabalu and makes for a interesting day trip for anyone wishing to escape the city.

Today we decided to combine a day out with some exercise and climbed from the starting point of the summit ascent at Timpohon Gate (1,866m) to Layang Layang at 2,621 m.
Layang Layang is the farthest point along the summit trail climbers may ascend without a guide and summit permit charge. This makes the experience very affordable having to pay 15RM entrance to the park itself plus 10RM for the summit trail entrance( £3.70 in total).

The atmosphere on route is exhilarating with climbers descending having achieved their summit goal, full of encouragement for those beginning their two day ascent.

The 8-km round trip to Layang Layang takes around 3.5 hours so theres plenty of time to spend the rest of the day within the Kinabalu Park, visiting the botanical gardens and enjoying a nice meal in one of the restaurants, or for a cheaper option but superb cuisine - the cafe opposite the main entrance to the park.

For more information and images including accommodation reviews and advise on a summit ascent, please visit our Mount Kinabalu page.

We are currently upgrading our web servers and some pages will not be available form 22th - 25th May 2007.

We apologize for the interruption.

Please re-visit www.downbelowseaventures.com OR www.downbelow.co.uk soon.

Should you have an immediate enquiry please contact us.

COMPLETED 25.5.07.

This years Whale Shark season in Kota Kinabalu has passed with no credible sightings, which leads us to wonder why?

Every year from February to April the waters surrounding the north western coast of Borneo become cooler with temperatures dropping as low as 24 degrees at diving depths. At the same time, Krill begin to appear along with their predator the Whale Shark Rhincodon typus - the only representative of the Rhincodontidae family.

Although the Whale Shark is the largest fish in the ocean, migration patterns are still poorly understood and their absence this season could be attributed to a number of occurrences. For one, last years giant visitors were harassed and injured by locals and tourists, one young male was hit by a boat propeller.

Overfishing and ocean pollution is a rising and constant threat to all marine life within the food chain and will no doubt put pressure on already small numbers of Shark visitors to the region. Unknown to most, fish bombing continues in the surrounding waters of Sabah, although an illegal practice law enforcement appears to be weak in this area and we often hear bombs exploding whilst diving.

This years El Nino could also be a factor, studies at the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Townsville indicate that in strong El Nino years Krill numbers are lower, whereas during La Nina years krill abundance proved to be much higher. So perhaps the El Nino phenomenon somehow negatively affects the whale sharks’ food supply in certain areas, thus less or in our case none are seen.

At Ningaloo reef in Western Australia the Department of Fisheries and Calm have developed strict guidelines for human interaction with Whale Sharks. Perhaps in positive anticipation of them returning next year the local authorities of Sabah should introduce a similar enforcement. For more information on these guidelines please CLICK HERE.

For more information on Whale Sharks please visit our Marine Biology Sharks section.

Making headlines this week in Kota Kinabalu are Marine Turtles - dead ones, illegally caught by poaching boats from China and Indonesia. This frustrating and sad news along with finding a dead Green Turtle, killed by a speed boat engine has inspired us to post a news item reminding readers of the dangers these adorable creatures face in our world today.

Marine Turtles have roamed our oceans for 185 million years with only one natural predator – the Tiger Shark. Amazingly they survived the mass extinction of dinosaurs to face and even greater threat - Man !

WWF’s Endangered Species list includes the Green Turtle, Hawksbill, Kemps Ridley, Loggerhead and Leatherback Turtle.

Sexual maturity comes late, most turtles will not mate until at least the age of 25 years old some much later, and a great number are killed before they reach this age reducing their numbers to the point of critical depletion.

They face numerous threats; their meat, eggs and oil are sought after for human consumption and seen as a delicacy in parts of Asia. Their shells, especially the Hawksbill is beautiful and used to make jewellery and household ornaments. Although they are a protected species in many waters as we've seen this week there is still great demand for their body parts to the point where poachers are willing to risk jail and hefty fines to bring back the catch.

Many become entangled in fishing nets, long line nets and drown.  Some are hit by speed boats as they surface for air.

Turtles accidentally swallow plastic bags, which block up their digestive system. Cigarette butts, which are toxic are often thrown into the ocean - even by Divers ! If a turtle swallows one of these they will more than likely die.

In recent years dead turtles have been found with grapefruit size tumors, the cause of which is uncertain but most likely a result of increased chemical pollutants in our oceans.


It’s a sad state of affairs, perhaps awareness and education can help save our Turtles and each of us can make a small difference.

So what can we do ?

Do not buy or support any outlet selling turtle products.

Take a rubbish net diving and collect any plastic bags you might find, ensuring that nothing is living in them before you ball them up. If you don't have a net just put them in your BCD pocket, just one bag can make a difference.

If you see anyone throw cigarette butts into any body of water, inform them of the consequence should a turtle or other marine creature swallow their butt. Usually when people are educated about the cigarettes toxicity, next time they finish their smoke they'll dispose of it differently.

If you're diving or snorkeling in an area known for turtles and the dive boat you're on is going too fast to avoid an ascending turtle, ask the driver to slow down and explain why.

If you visit a region and rubbish in ocean alarms you, say something, make your thoughts known to the tourist board.

When guests and tourists complain, this is the voice thats heard as this is where the money comes from.

For More Information on Marine Turtles please visit our Marine Biology Turtle page.

On a recent trip to Kinabatangan we discovered a Tree Planting program organized by Bilit Adventure Lodge.

This entire area has suffered greatly from tree felling and forest clearing for the development of Palm Plantations which pose enormous challenges to the environment and wildlife living within it. Thankfully in 1999 the Government of Malaysia declared a 26,000 hectare region of the Kinabatangan their "Gift to the Earth".

With lodges and resorts now providing visitors the opportunity to see many endangered and fascinating creatures, tree planting is a way in which we can all give a little back, not only to the area but to the planet.

It is said that in a lifetime one human being requires 10 trees to absorb our carbon dioxide output.

Tree saplings are cultivated by the local Orang Sungei (River People) and for 10RM you can take part in this program and plant your own tree, a name board is provided so you can check on the tree's progress throughout future visits. Fruiting trees are a valuable food source to the wildlife in the region, encouraging more wildlife to the replanted area.




Click here for more information on the Kinabatangan River.

For information about the Tree Planting program please email Bilit Adventure Lodge.