MLNG BEACON Project completes deployment of 1,500 reef balls

 BINTULU, March 31, 2015 . -  Malaysia LNG Group of Companies (MLNG), in collaboration with the Sarawak Forestry Corporation Sdn Bhd, yesterday completed a three-year reef ball deployment programme under its Biodiversity, Environment and Conservation (BEACON) Project.

Under the BEACON Project, MLNG has allocated RM4.7 million for the reef ball programme which saw the deployment of 1,500 units of specially-made reef balls into Bintulu's waters over a period of three years. 

MLNG and Sarawak Forestry divers carrying out work under water.

 This last round of deployment, which took place from March 20 to 31, 2015, will add another 500 units of reef balls onto the seabed, adding to the 1,000 units deployed in 2013 and 2014. 

The key objectives of the reef ball programme are to create a sanctuary for marine life, to prevent illegal trawling activities from destroying natural reefs, to protect the natural reefs from destruction and to encourage growth of corals.

“For the past two years, we deployed the reef balls in zig-zag lines along the coast of Similajau National Park. This year, we will arrange the reef balls in clusters of 10 in the national park waters and clusters of 25 at the nearby Patricia Reef,” said James Bali, the BEACON Project Technical Working Committee chairman and biologist from Sarawak Forestry.

 A reef ball in the process of being deployed. Under MLNG’s BEACON Project, 1,500 reef balls have been deployed into the waters offshore Bintulu.

 According to James, the clustering of 10 is designed as a tool to protect the endangered turtles from illegal trawlers by closing the gap between the previously deployed zig-zag lines of reef balls.

The larger clusters near the Patricia Reef is an experimental plot for reef-building and reef life enhancement, providing new surface for coral polyps to settle down and create new colonies of reefs.

MLNG HSE Department Fire Marshall and one of the volunteer divers, Wahed Kep, who has participated in all the reef ball deployments, noted that: “I am passionate about diving and the conservation of our marine life.

"Every year, more and more species are becoming classified as endangered. So if MLNG, our colleagues and I can do our part in helping to avoid this, then I am all for it.”

Wahed is among the 15 divers who were trained under MLNG’s BEACON Project Divers Training programme where staff from various departments underwent a course and practical training to become Open Water Divers certified by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors or PADI.

This time around, some 20 divers from among MLNG staff and nine from Sarawak Forestry carried out Benthic Substrate Surveys to identify suitable spots for deployment as well as assisted with the actual deployment.

The BEACON Project, a signature Corporate Social Investment programme carried out by MLNG in collaboration with Sarawak Forestry, is an eight-year project.

The reef balls being constructed at the factory in Kuching. The reef balls are made using special, non-toxic ingredients. They weigh one tonne each. 

 It comprises of BEACON Reef Ball programme which sees the deployment of 1,500 artificial reef balls into the sea as sanctuaries for marine life, and the Conservation, Education, Promotion and Awareness (CEPA) programme which includes many activities aimed at raising awareness in the public about environmental conservation. 

Among the activities conducted under the CEPA component include the BEACON Project Friends of Nature environmental camp for secondary school students, Cetacean Aerial and Boat Surveys to gauge the count of marine mammals in local waters, reef and beach cleaning activities, among others.