Seemingly weightless in the water, these monster nets can crush delicate corals and entangle fish | Image by Quek Yew Aun
In an article for NYSEAN Partner, Macaranga, Quek Yew Aun asserts that ghost nets are endangering one of Malaysia’s newest marine parks in Malacca, and they are becoming more difficult to remove.
GHOSTS HAUNT my dreams.
No, these are not your typical ghosts. They are neither draped in white sheets nor have long fangs. My ghosts, like many other ghosts, were once wanted.
They were made to assist humanity. But once their utility expires or they are broken beyond repair, they are discarded. Abandoned and allowed to drift, they keep harming others.
My ghosts happen to be ghost nets.
These are abandoned, lost or discarded fishing nets that can blanket coral reefs and continue to catch marine life, often killing them.
I have dived in waters of Malacca every year since 2022. These dives are to assist biodiversity surveys conducted by the Department of Fisheries Malaysia (DOFM).
“Malacca can dive one meh?” asked a friend when I told him I was going. “Anywhere also can dive,” I replied cheekily.
“Ahh, then dowan lah. You go.”
