Diving - Part 2: Undiscovered Territory

Most of the coral reefs on Sabah's West coast described in Famous Dive Locations are known to locals and tourists, the only known exception being a submerged reef lying approximately 30km directly out from Kota Kinabalu, known to local fishermen it has yet to be dived. Coral Reefs on the North and East coasts of Sabah however are largely unexplored, with the exception of a handful of places described in Famous Dive Locations. On the North coast there exists a multitude of tropical islands, large and small, stretching between Pulau Balambangan and Pulau Jambongan. On most of these islands freshwater is not available and therefore local settlements, or Kampongs, are sparsely distributed. The state of fishing on these islands is largely undescribed; although scientific research suggests that for the most part fishing pressures are low. Indeed many of the islands here are only visited occasionally by small groups of researchers from Borneo Marine Research Institute. The discovery of junk wrecks and pottery dating back to between the 9th and 13th centuries suggests that this area was part of the trading route between China and Borneo during the Sung and Ming Dynasties and later. It is suspected that many more wrecks sunk on the extensive reef systems lie undiscovered. Moving south the majority of islands on Sabah's East coast are incorporated within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), at each of these marine parks there are Famous Dive Locations, but also untouched and relatively unexplored islands of equal beauty. Such islands are absolutely stunning but for proper exploration a far deal of time and a good boat is required.