DIVING NEWS
An unusual double “blue hole” site discovered in Darvel Bay, Malaysia could become a major underwater attraction – but the area in which the holes lie needs protection, say the scuba divers who found them.
Also read: When is a blue hole not a blue hole?
The divers came across the site in mid-February during a scientific expedition to collect marine-life data in Darvel Bay, which lies on the east side of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo.
They had been investigating what they had expected to be an area of corals when they found the pair of submerged caves.
“We explored both blue holes and could cover the site with just one tank of gas,” one of the divers, Sabah Parks senior research officer Nasrulhakim Maidin, told state news agency Bernama. He described the experience as “amazing”.
“When we came out of the blue hole from the left to the right, it was like moving over a mountain range in the sea,” said Maidin. Each hole was around 15m deep, with large amounts of coral present, though few fish.
The diver said he believed that the location could be promoted as a major tourist dive-site like famed blue-hole sites in Belize or the Bahamas, especially as it was situated not far from sites such as world-famous diving attraction Sipadan Island, where diver numbers are now subject to quotas.
However, he added that Darvel Bay, which covers some 390 sq miles and includes around 50 islands, should first be considered for designation as a marine protected area.
