SITE 14: SIMILAJAU IMCA

Cindy, Peter and Aazani, Mujahid (2024) SITE 14: SIMILAJAU IMCA. In: MyIMCA : Malaysia's Important Marine and Coastal Area. WWF-Malaysia, pp. 98-105.

PDF Peter and Mujahid (2024) - SIMILAJAU IMCA.pdf Download (7MB)

Abstract

The Similajau-Kuala Nyalau coastline covers approximately 455 km2 of coastal waters in the Bintulu district of the state of Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. While a few small rivers empty into this stretch of coastline, it does not include any major estuaries or bays. It encompasses the coastal waters of Similajau National Park, a terrestrial protected area increasingly hemmed in by oil palm plantations, a major industrial park and a liquified natural gas plant. Research conducted by various researchers since 2008 has recorded three species of cetaceans and turtles each, 54 seaweed species, 10 families of fishes and 33 species of phytoplankton. Observations of Irrawaddy dolphin and finless porpoise calves and feeding behaviour demonstrate that these coastal waters are important habitat for both species. The rapid coastal development taking place north of the national park is likely to impact all wildlife species in the area through agricultural run-off laden with pesticides and fertilisers, industrial discharge, and the construction of jetties and ports extending into the nearshore habitat used by the cetaceans.

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