Upon reaching Berjaya Redang Resort, we were told that there were about less than 200 divers from numerous dive teams, including one dive team that came all the way from Singapore partaking in the Redang Island Clean-Up Day and simply just watching these divers enter the resort and gearing up for their first dives was an extraordinary moment.  On the first day, the divers got to dive and collect rubbish from the seabed, though sources informed me that the day for the first dives were not too fruitful as the underwater visibility was poor due to the fact that it had rained on the island earlier. For the non-divers, however, their activities were to have a Nature walk, beach Tele-matches and a classic game of Tug-Of –War. In the midst of the main highlight of the event, there were also the Underwater Digital Photography contests taking place throughout the entire 3 day of the island clean-up event. During the dinner get-together, 2 seminars were held whilst the dinner took place at the function room of the Berjaya Redang Resort. The first one was an “Underwater Conservation Seminar” by the PADI/Project Aware representative, Mr. Johnny Chew.

PADI/Project Aware representative, Mr. Johnny Chew with Charlene from VOIZE.

This Seminar consists of an informative way of educating those who are unaware of what the Redang Island Clean-up Day is all about and how long this event has been around. For those of you whom are unaware of Project Aware, in a nutshell Project Aware is all about the conservation of Marine life and people like us volunteering to maintain that cleanliness of these marine life with hopes that we could prevent any kind of man-made extinction. Also mentioned in the seminar, when an island clean-up is being organized, up to 400,000volunteers have the capability of removing 6.8 million worth of trash and recently, with the manpower from 1,539 volunteers, 24,817 pounds of rubbish is managed to be removed on an island itself. The Next seminar of the night consists of the “Underwater Photography Seminar by the Scuba Symphony representative where tips for underwater photography were shared around the room.

Bright and early the next morning, a group photo   with the 150 or more divers took place on the beach of Berjaya Redang Resort. Divers have never ceased to amaze me with their ever-going energy, uplifting spirits and positive vibe that just comes naturally especially when they are about to gear up to dive.

“Divers tell me that diving is a very calming sport. Is that a cause to why divers are so down to earth, zany and never a bored soul to be around?” I inquire one of the divers.

An example of an underwater camera.

“Well, you could say that but don’t take my word for it. Although you can take my word that diving is a calm sport. I guess it is calm in the sense that when you go down into the sea, everything is quiet and at the same time colourful in the sense that every diving experience is unique “said a diver who wishes to remain anonymous.

The second day was a personal experience for me as I took part in the diver’s chore for the Redang Island Clean-up Day. As I geared up and gathered among my dive team for a short briefing to what we had to do for the day, seems that the second dive consist of picking up crown of thorns that were somewhat like a sea urchin hiding amongst corals close to the sea bed.

• What is there to know about the Crown of Thorns and why it needs to be picked up during an Island clean-up?

“The Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster planci) is a large nocturnal sea star that preys upon coral polyps. The Crown-of-Thorns receives its name from venomous thorn-like spines that cover its body. The Crown-of-Thorns is endemic to tropical coral reefs in the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean. As solitary animals, they feed alone and maintain constant distance between themselves and other members of their species. The Crown-of-Thorns can grow from the size of a grain of sand to the size of a dinner plate. An exceptionally large crown of thorns can grow to be the size of a school bus tire. Like other sea stars, the Crown-of-Thorns is capable of limb regeneration, and can re-grow to full size from a severed limb. The sharp spines on the sides of the starfish’s limbs resemble thorns and create a crown-like shape, giving the creature its name. These thorns are very sharp and are capable of piercing through standard wetsuits and other clothing. The Crown-of-Thorns produces a neurotoxin which can be released through its spines. Not only are the wounds themselves serious, but the neurotoxin can cause a sharp stinging pain that can last for hours, as well as nausea and vomiting. Frequently, the area around the wound turns a dark blue (erythema) and begins to swell (edema). Swelling may persist for days to weeks. The spine(s) may break and remnants may become embedded inside the skin. This can lead to infection, and increased toxicity.Some divers kill these predators by injecting the starfish’s own stomach acid into each of their many legs. Hence, The Crown-of-Thorns starfish has gained notoriety as a threat to the coral reef ecosystem, particularly in the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia. Overpopulation of Crown-of-Thorns has been blamed for widespread reef destruction. Birkeland (1985) describes the starfish as one of the most influential species in the diverse biotic communities that make up tropical coral reefs.

Some ecologists point out that the starfish has an important and active role in maintaining coral reef biodiversity, driving ecological succession. Before overpopulation became a significant issue, Crown-of-Thorns kept the fast growing coral from overpowering the slower growing coral. Other factors negatively affecting the reef ecosystem, such as coral bleaching or Black band disease, mean that outbreaks of the Crown-of-Thorns can now cause permanent and devastating damage. Increasing outbreaks are also thought to be caused by possible environmental pollution triggers. Algal blooms caused by agricultural run-off may supply predators of Crown-of-Starfish larvae with plentiful alternative food sources. These explanations may also explain why massive outbreaks seemingly appearing out of nowhere, with no previous indication of an increasing population at the affected site. Crown of thorns starfish in French Polynesia –population numbers for the Crown-of-Thorns have been increasing since the 1970s. However, historic records distribution patterns and numbers are hard to come by, as SCUBA technology, necessary to conduct population censuses, had only been developed in the previous few decades. To prevent overpopulation of Crown-of-Thorns causing widespread destruction to coral reef habitats, humans have implemented a variety of control measures. Injecting sodium bisulphate into the starfish is the most efficient measure in practice. Sodium bisulphate is deadly to Crown-of-Thorns, but it does not harm the surrounding reef and oceanic ecosystems. When under stress The Crown-Of-Thorns releases spores which can create outbreaks, and if it is dismembered the crown-of-thorns can re-generate from each body part, creating more sea stars. Thus controlling the Crown-Of-Thorns is difficult and much care is required.”

PADI/Project Aware representative, Mr. Johnny Chew with Charlene from VOIZE.

An example of an underwater camera.

I guess this much information will give you (our readers) a rough idea to why the Crown of Thorns need to be picked off during the island clean-up. However, they do play a big part in the natural causes of the marine life hence they can’t be picked off the ocean thoroughly to maintain the ecological balance to the marine life.