A Londoner diving at a Malaysian holiday paradise has told Asia Wire of his horror after filming slaughtered hammerhead sharks on the seabed as this shocking footage shows.
Gareth Jones, 50, from central London, who has been diving for 18 years, was visiting the Malaysian island of Mabul when he spotted the severed body parts on the seabed and made a video.
WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT
Video Creidt: AsiaWire/@gareth.jones9999
In the footage uploaded to Facebook and viewed 24,000 times, Jones filmed the gruesome body parts with the caption: “Slaughtered sharks on Mabul Island just a few miles from Sipadan.”
“I have never seen anything like this before,” he told Asia Wire.
Speaking to AsiaWire, he described the find as: “Very shocking, especially in an area where so many people travel thousands of miles to dive with these majestic creatures. I hope this video demonstrates that sharks in this area need more protection.”
Earlier the tourist wrote on social media: “I am shocked with what I saw at the end of my scuba diving trip in Sabah.
“I have dived in Borneo many times and did not think I would ever see such distressing images of discarded dead sharks just a few miles from Sipadan.
“Why should tourists travel to see the world famous Sipadan sharks if they are being hunted to extinction?”
Jones urged netizens to share his video and raise awareness of the situation.
The Sabah Shark Protection Association contacted the scuba diver to say: “Hi Gareth, We agree, this is absolutely awful! Is the video yours to share? Can we tag some people?”
Organisation chairman Aderick Chong said that the state government needs to decide whether to list hammerhead sharks as a protected species.
He speculated that the massacre may have happened to cover the tracks of those who hunt the protected sea creatures.
Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew vowed to find out who killed the sharks.
Jones said that it is not the first time that locals at the diving area have seen shark killings in the area.
Sharks are a popular food for many Sabah residents, who cook their fins and use their meat in pickled foods, according to local media.
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Story By: Lee Bullen, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder,  Agency: Asia Wire Report
