Mabul is a small island off the
south-eastern coast of Sabah in Malaysia.
The island has been a fishing village since 1970s. Then in 1990s, it first
became popular to divers due to its proximity to Sipadan island.
Located 15 km from
Sipadan, this 20-hectare piece of land surfaces 2–3 meters above sea level,
consists mostly flat grounds and aerial view is oval-shaped. Surrounding it are
sandy beaches, perched on the northwest corner of a larger two square kilometer
reef. Mabul island is
administered by Semporna, Tawau district.
There are 2 main villages on the island i.e. "Kampung
Mabul" and "Kampung Musu". From 1999 census, it was recorded
that there are approximately 2000 villagers living in Mabul, half of them children
below 14 years old. The majority are immigrants from relatively nearby clusters
of islands of the southern Philippines. They are mainly Bajau Laut and Suluk Muslims who live a nomadic lifestyle.
Basic amenities include a
mosque, schools, community and fishermen hall. The main transportation mode
from one point to another is by boat.
Mainly fishermen, the village
source of income depends on sea products such as squids and fish. Traditional
fishing methods are called "Payau" and "Sangkaliya". Mabul
fishermen prefers catches close to the Malaysia-Philippines borders, perhaps
due to its abundance. An average fishing trip will take 3–5 days out in the
sea. When the men return, their catches are being sold in the mainland,
Semporna.
It was said that Mabul was
owned by a man from Menampilik island. Back in 1970s, he and the villagers then
used to plant coconuts on the island, apart from fishing. Later in 1992,
Sipadan Mabul Resort (SMART) purchased a part of land on the east of Mabul
intended for tourism.
It is more correctly recognised now that the reason for the
quality of the MUCK Diving is simply a result of overfishing uses of cyanide
and dynamite by the local people of this area.
The reef is on the edge of
the continental shelf and the seabed surrounding the reef slopes out to 25 to
30 m deep. There are several dive resorts operating on Mabul island.
Mabul is arguably one of
the richest single destinations for exotic small marine life anywhere in the
world. Flamboyant cuttlefish, blue-ringed octopus, mimic octopus and bobtail
squids are just a few of the numerous types of cephalopods to be found on
Mabul's reef.
Many types of gobies can
be found including the spike-fin goby, black sail-fin goby and metallic shrimp
goby. Frogfish are everywhere -giant, painted and clown frogfish are regularly
seen along with almost the whole scorpion fish family.[1]
There are six resorts
here, which provides accommodation for scuba divers - most located on the
island or on stilts over the water, while one is on a converted oil platform
about 500 meters from the beach. There are also several homestay &
backpacker accommodations which also arrange diving. All of the
resorts/homestays can arrange a day trip to the nearby island of Pulau Sipadan.
Be warned that there is a permit system for Sipadan and all permits may be
booked months in advance. Diving is good around Mabul itself there is a good
wall at Panglima and the best muck diving sites are called Paradise. There is
good diving at Kapalai especially the house reef.
Thank you ShereenTan for this pretty card.
