Borneo Post 11 Oct 16;
SHAH ALAM: Laws regarding marine life need to be reviewed to make it more inclusive, including in the aspect of preserving coral reefs, said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
“As we all know, laws regarding marine life are under the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry
Ministry, but it has not been reviewed for the past 10 years,” he said after officiating the Management and Science University (MSU) Environmental Sustainability Campaign (MESC) 2016 here yesterday.
He said the lack of awareness on the preservation and conservation of coral reefs among public could inhibit the fish reproduction as it was the main element that acts as a source of oxygen in the sea bed.
“Currently, only five per cent of our ocean areas are covered with coral reefs. Preservation and conservation need to be enhanced to achieve 10 per cent, so they can be declared as marine park.
“Sabah and Sarawak are on the move to add more declarations to their marine protected areas which are quite big and this will help to increase our chance of expanding conservation programmes to safeguard this treasure,” he said.
Wan Junaidi said efforts by MSU in breeding and preserving coral reefs in Redang Island, Terengganu, need to be lauded for assisting the country in safeguarding the marine ecosystem. — Bernama
