KOTA KINABALU: A skin infection seems to be affecting at least one species of sharks in Sabah’s east coast waters.

For years, the whitetip reef shark has been hunted for its fins.

Now, this skin infection seems to have taken hold, making them appear like something has “eaten” the flesh of the sharks.

Diver Jason Isley of Scubazoo, a Sabah-based international filming services provider, posted photos on his Facebook page of an infected whitetip shark he photographed near Pulau Sipadan several days ago.

Isley said the shark he spotted at the well-known diving spot, known as Barracuda Point, appeared to be “in a bad way”.

He said he first noticed the white patches on the sharks early last year.

The potentially life-threatening skin infection appeared to be due to environmental factors.

Isley said he had received feedback that sharks kept in aquariums also suffered similar skin infections when the water was too warm.

This also happened when the salt content of the water in aquariums went down.

When contacted, Sabah Wildlife Department assistant director Dr Sen Nathan said warmer than normal water temperatures had likely caused a bacterial or fungi bloom.

“There’s also a possibility that the warmer waters have caused undue stress on these marine creatures, causing their immune systems to be compromised,” he added.

Prior to this, sharks in Sabah’s east coast were hunted for their fins. There was an uproar when visitors published photos of the sharks left to die several years ago.

The carnage led to calls for an outright ban on shark hunting, with the Sabah Shark Protection Association calling on the authorities to do more to protect them.

A scientific study of marine creatures in the Semporna region by the Australian Institute of Marine Science, nearly a decade ago, valued the tourism revenue from a single living shark at RM3.6 million for Sabah. This was compared to a mere RM440 for its fins.

Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/