![]() There is no public transport to the island. Marine science students and marine conservation volunteers are working underwater to replant the reef, based at the TRACC Expedition camp. The two resorts provide a variety of PADI courses, dives & accommodation for recreational scuba divers. The island lies below the monsoon belt and gets good weather all year while there are occasional short squalls during thunderstorms, they rarely last more than an hour. The water varies from 25 to 29 degrees C, with good visibility. The protection from the resorts and coral planting by TRACC has helped to reduce fishing and increase the numbers and diversity of fish species. The island is a macro divers' paradise with many small creatures located in the shallows in front of the resorts. The hawksbill is both less common and more territorial with individuals being regularly seen at the lobster wall, the North Tip and Magic Rocks. Both turtles are present on the reef throughout the year with an average of 7 green turtles seen per hour on a dive or snorkeling trip. The green turtle nests year-round but peak nesting is May to September. All the 6 northeast Semporna Islands are nesting beaches and many of the stakeholders in the area are working towards better protecting the turtles and reef environments. Pom Pom island is an important nesting and feeding site for green and hawksbill turtles. The northeast Semporna islands are part of the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion and have been prioritised by the WWF's and the Fisheries Department of Sabah. The ongoing survey by TRACC's based on Pom Pom island, has a fish count of 220+ species and a coral count of over 250 species. A recent study by UMS, WWF, Sabah Parks and Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Netherlands in the nearby Tun Sakaran Marine Park found a record 43 species of mushroom corals and suggested that the region may have the world's highest marine biodiversity: “At some of the more diverse reefs, fish species counts rivalled the highest counts that the fish team found in the Philippines and were greater than what they have encountered in Indonesia.” The fish team encountered 844 species of fish in Semporna. The region is part of the coral triangle which has 500-plus coral species. The marine biodiversity of Pom Pom Island is rich with many rare and uncommon species. There are no monitor lizards or snakes, though these are found on the other islands. Pom Pom island is densely wooded with small trees, especially from the pandanus family. Pom Pom is being eroded from the northeast side and in an effort to stabilise the shoreline, the Pom Pom Island Resort has built a long sea wall at the high tide line.īoth Pom Pom and Mataking islands were featured in the second edition of the Swedish reality competition, Expedition Robinson, or Survivor as it is referred to in some countries. There are operational resorts on Pom Pom Island, Mataking and Kalapuan, while resorts are planned for Timba Timba and Pandanan islands. There are coastal stilt villages on Kalapuan and Bohayan islands, while the other islands have fewer inhabitants. The islands are mostly separated by deep water and all are surrounded by a fringing coral reef with minimal lagoon development. The islands are linked by the presence of turtle nesting. There are six islands to the northeast of Semporna, outside the Tun Sakaran Marine Park. ![]()
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