Tun Sakaran Marine Park

Tun Sakaran, gazetted in 2004, covers about three hundred and fifty square kilometres off Semporna around a group of islands - Bodgaya, Boheydulang, Sabangkat, Selakan, Maiga, Sibuan and Mantabuan - which are the eroded rim of an old volcanic caldera, so the islands curve around a shared shallow lagoon of exceptional clarity. The standard trip is a steep climb of about forty-five minutes up Bohey Dulang to a ridge viewpoint looking straight down into the lagoon with the islands curving away, which is the photograph everyone has seen of Sabah, followed by snorkelling. The park is inhabited: Bajau Laut communities live in and around it, some stateless, and the tension between conservation rules, fishing rights and statelessness is real and unresolved. Fish bombing damaged reefs here badly and enforcement has improved but not eliminated it.

History

Bodgaya was first gazetted as a forest reserve in 1933 and Boheydulang as a bird sanctuary, a state park was first proposed in 1977, and in 1998 the Semporna Islands Project, joining the Marine Conservation Society, Sabah Parks, WWF Malaysia and Nature Link, took the plans forward (Wikipedia, Tun Sakaran Marine Park).

Highlights

• A drowned caldera - islands curving as the rim around a shared shallow lagoon.
• The Bohey Dulang climb - forty-five steep minutes to the ridge above the lagoon.
• Bajau Laut communities - living in the park, some without citizenship.
• Reef damage and recovery - fish bombing legacy with enforcement now in place.

When to go

April to December. A day.

Practical notes

The Bohey Dulang climb is steep, hot and slippery. Permits are required and go through licensed operators.

Nearby

Semporna is the departure point; Mabul and Sipadan are south-east.

Key facts