PUTRAJAYA: Higher sea temperatures in Malaysian oceans may soon cause a phenomenon known as coral bleaching, endangering coral reefs in the oceans of the country.
Action plans are being prepared to protect Malaysia’s coral reefs after an early warning that mass coral bleaching could be a high possibility.
In a statement earlier, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the Coral Reef Bleaching Response Committee (CRBRC) under the Department of Marine Parks Malaysia (DMPM) was monitoring the situation closely.
"After the mass coral reef bleaching incident in 2010, CRBRC was established to respond effectively to future bleaching events.
"It is also currently consulting with stakeholders to develop appropriate management responses in order to protect Malaysia's valuable coral reefs," he added.
This was following the issuance of a 'bleaching watch' notification for Malaysia on May 2 by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Watch Programme.
Wan Junaidi said the notification indicated that sea surface temperatures in some of Malaysia's waters were above average and Malaysia's coral reefs may have been or soon will be exposed to thermal stress.
"Coral bleaching is a major threat to coral reef health and deserves serious attention due to implications on marine biodiversity, coral reefs fisheries and tourism in the country," he added.
NOAA's Coral Reef Watch Programme publishes satellite data on sea surface temperatures, providing an indication of current reef environmental conditions to quickly identify areas at risk of coral bleaching, he added.
"Continuous monitoring of sea surface temperature at global scale provides researchers and stakeholders with tools to understand and better manage the complex interactions leading to coral bleaching," he said.
Wan Junaidi said when bleaching conditions occurred, these tools can be used to trigger bleaching response plans and support appropriate management decisions, adding that bleaching is a natural response of corals under stress.
"The term 'Mass Bleaching' describes the large scale phenomenon of many species of corals bleaching simultaneously over a significant spatial scale," Wan Junaidi said.
He said CRBRC will begin surveys on coral reefs to monitor the situation in the country and track the onset of any bleaching.
"Actions plans to respond to such an event have already been prepared.
"The committee will provide further information as it becomes available and will work to ensure all stakeholders are kept fully informed of the changing situation, "he added.
DMPM has published the first Malaysian Coral Reef Bleaching Response Plan as a guide for monitoring and managing future bleaching events and communicating with stakeholders on per-determined steps that need to be carried out during mass coral reef bleaching.