Bilkuin Jimi Salih remembers swimming dozens of feet underwater among reefs and collecting sea cucumbers and abalone to sell at local markets. He cannot recall when he learned to dive, but it is a rite of passage as a man in his family.
"One of our specialties is that, because we live on the sea and we’re always in the sea, we can dive in the water for a long time. We learn by observing," Salih told CNN via translator.
20-year-old Salih was born on a lepa, a type of houseboat, off the coast of Semporna, Malaysia. His diving skills came naturally as part of his culture. Salih’s family is of an Indigenous background and is part of the Southeast Asian group of Bajau Laut. He has lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle on the ocean, much like his ancestors have for centuries.
“We’re very comfortable on the water,” Salih said. Living on boats and fishing as a means of living is typical in Salih’s community. Bajau Laut are not just reliant on the ocean, they are biologically adapted to it. They have larger spleens than the average human, allowing them to hold their breath longer underwater.
Things have changed
Salih’s family has depended on the sea for centuries for fishing and diving. “We could easily get a bucket of abalone and sea cucumbers before, but now there’s hardly any … For us to rely on the sea as a source of living is now very difficult,” explained Salih.
Semporna, a coastal town near the Coral Triangle's top, should be a total oasis. Its incredible marine biodiversity covers the waters of the six nations, but it isn’t so perfect in reality.
Over-exploitation of fish stocks is leading to the loss of fish habitats in southeast Asia. According to Reef Check Malaysia Program Manager and Green Semporna co-Founder Adzmin Fatta, communities living by the ocean are vulnerable to other climate change effects, such as high sea levels, beach erosion, and coral bleaching.
In Malaysia, bottom-dwelling demersal fish stocks are down by 90% in some regions. These worsening conditions have made low-income fishermen desperate, therefore forcing them to turn to illegal methods to increase their catch.
Illegal catch methods
“Fish bombing is cheap and easy,” Fatta said. It can provide 2,000 to 3,000 ringgit-worth of fish ($478 to $717) for just 15 of the same Malaysian currency ($3.60).
Fishers have also turned to methods such as blast and cyanide fishing. 68% of Sabah’s coral reefs were estimated to have been damaged by cyanide fishing by 2010, with 25% being hurt by blast fishing between 2010 and 2018.
Polluted by tourists
Aside from these illegal catch methods, plastic pollution has presented major issues for this already frail marine ecosystem. Tropical Research and Conservation Centre (TRACC) director Robin Phillipo believes that tourism is responsible for the majority of plastic waste. “The carrying capacity of Semporna compared to the waste that is being produced, I think that’s the unsustainable factor,” Phillipo said.
Despite residing in the area for centuries, many Bajau Laut in Semporna are not considered Malaysian citizens. This leaves the group in legal limbo, without access to simple healthcare or utilities, as well as in social stigma among the documented population of the region. While there is limited data accessible on the population of Bajau Laut, recent population censuses have estimated that around 28,000 Bajau Laut live in Sabah, 78% of whom are not documented.
Like other Bajau Laut in their area, Salih’s family had to give up their lepa and move into a stilt house above shallow water. They have had to abandon their traditional ways of living and adopt sedentary lives.
Climate change is threatening marine life now more than ever before, forcing the Bajau Laut’s traditions to fade.
Another perspective
Two other stateless stilt house residents, Imran Abbisi and Haikal Nukiman, are of Bajau Laut background but have chosen not to spend their lives fishing. Abbisi and Nukiman, unlike Salih, did not learn to dive as children but learned to do so through TRACC.
As interns with TRACC, the pair have been certified for PADI open-water scuba diving. This enables them to monitor reefs, collect data, install artificial reefs, and help to protect the ocean for a “much better world, for a greener world,” Abbisi said.
Robin Philippo hopes that these internships will provide young Malaysians with future opportunities in eco-tourism and the environmental industry.
Traditions maintained
While many other youth in the Bajau Laut community are veering away from the fishing culture, Salih is making efforts to maintain traditions in his culture.
Aside from attending university, Salih is a teacher at Iskul, a school in Omadal for undocumented Bajau Laut individuals. He teaches marine conversation, coral restoration, and core subjects like mathematics there.
Salih believes the community can modernize and grow while preserving cultural traditions. “I would like to maintain the traditions,” he said. “I will encourage my children to look and learn from me how to build a boat and ensure that they also continue teaching it … so that the tradition does not die.”
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