Scuba Diving in Sabah

Sabah offers the amazing dive sites recognized worldwide. Divers reveal thousands of miles to experience the amazing wonders of the underwater realm and where better than the bio-diversity hotspot of Southern Asia - Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.

With its sandy beaches, tropical islands, blue waters, coral reefs and atolls, its has several dive sites rated to be amongst the top ten in the world and many more yet to be truly explored. Over the years amny prominent marine biologist have visited and dived Sabah's water, including oceans' greatest ambassador, Jacques Costeau. He commented "I have seen other places like Sipadan, 45 years ago, but now no more. Now we have found again an untouched piece of art...a jewel".

In fact a diver may find many rare or endangered sea creatures such as green and hawksbill turtles, napoleon warasse, giant clams, as well as countless species of sharks and schools of thousands of barracuda and jacks.

Sabah is not only known for its reef's larger inhabitants but also as a 'muck-diving' paradise with such rarities as the mimic octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, mandarin fish, harlequin ghost pipefish plus many type of weird and wonderful frogfish and nudibranchs. These underwater delights are not restricted to the certified diver, snorkelers and beginner divers may enroll in one of the many PADI affiliated dive courses run at any Sabah's dive resorts. whatever your underwater wish, Sabah's seas and coral reefs can easily fulfill and surpass your wildest dream.

Sabah and its surrounding waters have been recognised as a marine turtle sanctuary since the opening of the Turtle Island Parks on its east coast. Managed by Sabah Parks, the beaches welcome nesting green and hawksbill turtles every night all year round. Similarly, the Wildlife Department monitors and protects nesting green and hawksbill turtles that visit Pulau Sipadan's shores.

On nearby Pulau Mabul, the Fisheries Department together with Sipadan Mabul had sunk hundreds of concrete pipes to form small artificial patch reefs surrounding a small wooden shiwreck. A fish poaching vessel was also sunk off the island of Pulau Lankayan and already hosts a myriad of creatures from the smallest ghost pipefish to the giant stingrays and schools barracuda.

Sipadan Water Village on Pulau Mabul, is also actively engaged in coral reef research. Dive masters and instructors are encouraged to study both the fish and coral life in detail in collaboration with a Japanese Natural History Museum. Each year, in June, the dive center's management and outside guest speakers run a specialized Marine Day and provide hands on lectures to guest sharing their studies' and encourage them to take part in their coral relocation and growth studies so that divers may learn more about the coral reef environment.

Gayana Island Eco Resort located on Pulau Gaya has a Giant Clam Rehabilitaion Center and also run a "Reef Project". Here they have a coral growth nursery and conduct clam induced spawning. Giant clams are one of the many marine species to have demised around Sabah in recent years.

University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) run an extensive marine research program especially into alternative marine culture programs designed to reduce fishing intensity from Sabah's coral reefs. Giant Clams, groupers and napoleon wrasse are some of the subjects grown and bred in specialised farms. They also run a whale shark research program, each year when whale sharks pass through the waters close to Kota Kinabalu they attempt to tag the sharks to document their migration routes.

Each year, PADI Project Aware beach and reef cleaning events are run to heighten public awareness in the importance of a clean marine environment. This has become a popular event with all the Dive Resorts and local people participating especially in Sabah.

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