![\"Vivian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/286651.jpg\")
<\/p>\nKUALA LUMPUR, July 9 \u2014 Do whales, dolphins and dugongs really exist in Malaysian waters?<\/p>\n
Yes, they do \u2014 and they\u2019re not just passing through. They live here, said marine biologist and scientific officer at MareCet Research Organisation, Vivian Kuit.<\/p>\n
Partially debunking the belief that such marine mammals only exist abroad or in cold climates, Kuit said the species found in Malaysia are not migratory strays but permanent residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn fact, there are 27 species of marine mammals recorded in Malaysian waters. Among them are Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, Indo-Pacific finless porpoises, spinner dolphins, dugongs, long-beaked common dolphins, Irrawaddy dolphins, Bryde\u2019s whales and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins,\u201d she told Malay Mail in a recent interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe coastal waters in different states have different species. In Perak, for example, we\u2019ve recorded four species, excluding Bryde\u2019s whales and dugongs.<\/p>\n
\u201cDugongs, for instance, only eat seagrass, so they rely on habitats where there are large patches of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhales are usually spotted more offshore \u2014 like in Langkawi, Bryde\u2019s whales are quite common. But if you ask any fisherman, they\u2019ll say \u2018I just saw dolphins last week\u2019,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
According to Kuit, for those who spend a lot of time at sea, seeing dolphins and other marine mammals is a common occurrence.<\/p>\n
However, awareness of their presence in local waters remains low \u2014 and this lack of awareness contributes to injuries and deaths among the species, particularly from fishing activities.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Vivian Kuit, marine biologist and scientific officer at MareCet Marine Mammal Research and Conservation, during an interview in Kuala Lumpur. \u2014 Picture by Yusof Mat Isa<\/p>\n
Why dolphins matter<\/strong><\/p>\n The most commonly seen marine mammals in Malaysian waters are dolphins \u2014 and they are among the most threatened by human activity.<\/p>\n Why does it matter whether they are dead or alive?<\/p>\n Aside from being charismatic creatures, dolphins are top predators, said Kuit. That means they play a crucial role in regulating the marine food web.<\/p>\n \u201cThey regulate fish populations. For example, dolphins usually catch weaker fish that can\u2019t swim as fast, which helps maintain stronger genetics in the fish population and improves the balance of the ecosystem,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cBeyond that, dolphins are indicator species. If you\u2019ve been seeing dolphins in an area regularly and suddenly you don\u2019t anymore, it can signal environmental problems such as pollution or overfishing.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I told you a small plankton is missing, you wouldn\u2019t notice. But if villagers who\u2019ve seen dolphins since childhood suddenly don\u2019t see them anymore, that\u2019s usually a clear sign something\u2019s wrong in the ecosystem,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n When dolphins are caught in fishing nets<\/strong><\/p>\n Kuit said that fishermen sometimes catch more than just fish in their nets \u2014 especially when entanglement, or bycatch, occurs.<\/p>\n Bycatch is one of the deadliest threats to dolphins in Malaysia and globally.<\/p>\n It happens when marine mammals and fishing activity overlap in the same waters.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Kuala Sepetang, Perak, for example, fishermen use drift nets \u2014 a kind of net that drifts with the tide.<\/p>\n \u201cThat area is also frequented by Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins. When they overlap with these nets, that\u2019s when bycatch is most likely to happen,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n When MareCet started its studies in 2013, there was very little data on marine mammals in Malaysia. But it quickly became clear that bycatch was a major threat, prompting the organisation to apply for and receive a grant from Yayasan Hasanah in 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cWith that, we launched our bycatch mitigation project \u2014 equipping fishermen with acoustic pingers for their nets to reduce bycatch and depredation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Depredation refers to dolphins taking fish from the net to eat.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes, they don\u2019t realise there\u2019s a net in front of them, and when they go after the fish, they get entangled.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce entangled, they may panic and roll, which worsens the entanglement. Their tails might get caught, and since marine mammals need to surface to breathe, they can drown if they can\u2019t reach the surface in time,\u201d Kuit said.<\/p>\n She recalled witnessing a live bycatch incident in which a fisherman tried to release a dolphin trapped in his net.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s actually very difficult to release an animal when it\u2019s panicking. The dolphin was bleeding from the net. That experience was what motivated us to work with fishermen so they can fish without harming dolphins,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Fortunately, Kuit said most local fishermen don\u2019t want entanglements either.<\/p>\n \u201cIn some countries, fishermen view dolphins as competition. But here in Perak, for instance, some believe that if a dolphin gets caught in your net, it\u2019s bad luck and the net won\u2019t catch fish anymore.<\/p>\n \u201cIn general, they\u2019re happy to see dolphins. To them, if the dolphins are happy, they\u2019re happy too,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n An Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin spotted during fieldwork in Kuala Sepetang, Perak, as part of MareCet\u2019s bycatch mitigation project with local fishers. \u2014 Picture courtesy of MareCet Research Organisation<\/p>\n Fishing sustainably with acoustic pingers<\/strong><\/p>\n The solution MareCet promotes is the use of acoustic pingers \u2014 small devices that emit sounds to warn dolphins away from fishing nets.<\/p>\n Shaped like bananas, the devices are also called \u201cbanana pingers\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThese devices emit a ping in the water that dolphins can hear, but other animals can\u2019t. Dolphins have a very high hearing frequency \u2014 while humans hear up to 20,000 kilohertz, dolphins can hear up to 50,000 kilohertz,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the Yayasan Hasanah grant, we were able to purchase pingers and distribute them to fishers who joined our project.<\/p>\n \u201cThese pingers are available overseas, but not locally. They cost about RM400 each. As long as they don\u2019t get flooded inside, they last a long time, and they run on regular batteries,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n A fisherman in Kuala Sepetang, Perak, fastening an acoustic pinger to his fishing net as part of MareCet\u2019s bycatch mitigation project supported by Yayasan Hasanah. \u2014 Picture courtesy of Yayasan Hasanah<\/p>\n What\u2019s next for MareCet?<\/strong><\/p>\n Kuit said the pilot bycatch mitigation project began in Perak, but MareCet now hopes to expand it to other areas, including Selangor.<\/p>\n \u201cBycatch is the biggest threat to marine mammals globally. The three species most commonly found in Perak \u2014 the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, Irrawaddy dolphins and Indo-Pacific finless porpoises \u2014 are also among the world\u2019s top 10 most bycaught marine mammals.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we hope to expand this to any state where fishers need these pingers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Kuit\u2019s interest in dolphins and marine conservation began as part of her PhD in marine biology, which focused on the ecology of dolphins in Perak.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m from Sandakan, Sabah. I only snorkelled for the first time when I was 17. The moment I went underwater, I was amazed \u2014 it was so different, so vibrant. That\u2019s when I got hooked on studying marine life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n MareCet hopes that acoustic pingers will eventually become more accessible in Malaysia.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody else is doing bycatch mitigation work here, unlike in many countries abroad. That\u2019s why with Yayasan Hasanah\u2019s funding, we\u2019re collecting data and presenting it to the Department of Fisheries Malaysia,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n According to MareCet\u2019s data, each fisher typically experiences one bycatch incident every two to three years.<\/p>\n \u201cSince the project started, fishers have reported no bycatch, and their fish catch has increased by 30 per cent.<\/p>\n \u201cDepredation by dolphins has also reduced by 70 per cent.<\/p>\n \u201cOn average, for every 24 fishers, you\u2019d get at least one bycatch case every two to three years \u2014 which means about eight incidents a year,\u201d Kuit said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 \u2014 Do whales, dolphins and dugongs really exist in Malaysian waters? 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