The pictures are appalling. Taken by tourists on the resort island Pulau Mabul, they show some locals butchering large mantra rays in the shallows of the sea. Reportedly 13 devil sharks and two oceanic manta rays were among the marine creatures that were slaughtered by villagers in full view of…

Ask officials in Sabah, and shark finning is practically nonexistent in the country’s waters. Ask conservationists, though, and it does happen, and rather too often. And not only that, but it can happen in broad daylight in what should be pristine and idyllic marine environments. The Danau Girang Field Centre in Sabah has…

To save sharks, we have to know and understand sharks. Appreciate them more too. That’s the message behind a government-sponsored campaign in Perak, which seeks to educate locals, from fishermen to school children, about the embattled predators. “We want to start by educating fishermen about the importance of shark conservation,…

Consuming sharks, or their fins, isn’t illegal in Malaysia. It should be. Sharks are at risk of being driven extinct in Malaysian waters, and unless they are treated as protected species by law, these majestic fish will indeed go extinct in Sabah and elsewhere. The animals are considered simply as…