Wan Junaidi: Pulau Payar coral reefs need two more months to recover from El Nino
KUAH ( Langkawi): It will take another two months for coral reefs at the Pulau Payar Marine Park to recover from the El Nino phenomenon that struck in March, said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
He said that though the temperature of the sea had begun to decline since May, the corals in the area needed time to fully recover.
“During the El Nino phenomenon (in March and April), the temperature of the sea hovered between 30 and 31 degrees Celsius, causing the moss on the corals to die,” he told Bernama.
Wan Junaidi said an improvement in the weather since May had averted greater damage as there were already early signs of coral bleaching.
“With the rain, the sea temperature has dropped to between 27 and 28 degrees Celsius and, if this continues, the corals can recover within eight weeks,” he said.
Wan Junaidi, who visited Pulau Payar recently, said measures taken by the Department of Marine Parks to control the number of tourists coming to Pulau Payar also helped the recovery process.
“The department has limited the number of tourists to 400 people at any one time and the snorkeling and swimming allowed around the island do not interfere with the process of restoring the coral reefs,” he said.
Pulau Payar, which is located about 40km to the south of Langkawi, is one of the areas declared as part of a national marine park in 1994 and is rich in biodiversity.
The marine park, which covers Pulau Payar, Pulau Kaca, Pulau Lembu and Pulau Segantang, is among 42 areas gazetted as marine parks in the country.
A study by Universiti Utara Malaysia in 2011 found that the total value of economic activities at the Pulau Payar Marine Park was about RM174 million a year. — Bernama