32 MORE ISLANDS TO BE MARINE PARKS:MALAYSIA

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 11 (Bernama) -- Thirty-two more islands and their waters
in Peninsular Malaysia are to be gazetted as marine parks soon to augment the 42
similar marine parks in the whole country.

Department of Marine Parks director-general Abdul Jamal Mydin said Monday
these islands were selected based on their biodiversity and ecosystem, the
marine life and corals in their waters as well as their tourist draw.

He spoke to reporters after briefing Deputy Natural Resources and
Environment Minister Joseph Kurup and the media here as part of efforts
to forge a strategic relationship between the department and the media to raise
public awareness on conservation of marine biodiversity.

Abdul Jamal said a marine park was a designated area for a distance of two
nautical miles from the lowest sea level of an island and was established to
protect and conserve various marine life and their habitat.

The existence of marine parks had attracted more than 500,000 domestic and
foreign tourists annually since their establishment in 2000, he said.

He also said that the department would step up patrols and enforcement with
the cooperation of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) to protect
marine life from destruction.

Abdul Jamal said the department would set up more Friends of the Park to
keep a lookout for illegal activities and environmental problems in
the marine parks.

Last year, 70 arrests were made for illegal fishing in the marine parks and
destroying the corals, of which 21 cases were in Pahang, east coast state in
Peninsular Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Kurup said the ministry would step up efforts to attract more
tourists to islands gazetted as marine parks, with the collaboration of the
Tourism Ministry.

-- BERNAMA