Courtesy in Perhentian Islands
Garbage barges in the coves/bays are generally being collected by the marine park. However, when they are not, the garbage falls off the barge, washing up on the shores of the beautiful beaches.
When you arrive at the jetty in Kuala Besut, you are made to pay a marine park fee, which is used to pay for services such as this. Despite this conservation effort, there are concerns that the coral reef will be gone within the decade, due to the intensive tourism industry. The destruction of the reef, especially close to shore, is becoming more profound each year.
Many snorkeling trip operators have very little awareness of environmental issues. They may discard plastic bags which contained food for attracting fish directly into the sea. This adds up to thousands of plastic bags needlessly thrown into the ocean. Do what you can do discourage this neglectful habit.
If you are a diver then you can dive with operators who do care about the marine environment. One or two Dive Centres run regular reef and beach clean operations and even offer the Reef Check survey methodology, which you can learn whilst helping to monitor and conserve the marine environment. Check out Watercolours and Coral Sky Dive Centres.ms:Perhentian
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The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Perhentian Islands