• last year
In the face of scorching sun, challenging waves, and persistent rain, these conditions could easily daunt even the most committed researchers.

Dr. Vivian Kuit, a marine scientist for MareCet Marine Mammal Research & Conservation, along with her team of researcher-conservationists, is determined to study and conserve marine mammals — species that many are not aware exist — in Malaysia.

MareCet is one of the winners of the Star Golden Hearts Award, an annual award by The Star and Yayasan Gamuda that recognises selfless Malaysian unsung heroes who make a positive impact on society and promote unity among the people. MareCet has also been awarded Gamuda Inspiration Award 2023.

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Transcript
00:00 Hi, I'm Vivian and I'm from the Marset Research Organisation
00:03 and we are the winner of the Star Golden Hearts Award 2023.
00:07 Established in 2012, Marset is an NGO that conducts research on marine mammals
00:22 with a goal of strengthening conservation efforts.
00:25 [Music]
00:36 I think in Malaysia, most people who live in cities might not feel connected with the ocean
00:41 because they might feel that they are very far from the ocean.
00:44 [Music]
00:48 But actually, the ocean provides a lot of ecosystem services to us that we do not even realise.
00:54 [Music]
00:58 During this interview, Dr Vivian Kwid and her team of six
01:02 were spending hours sailing the sea near the Perak coast.
01:05 [Music]
01:07 Their goal is to study the behaviour of marine mammals
01:10 that many people do not know exist in those waters for conservation purposes.
01:15 [Music]
01:16 For example, if we want to conserve a species,
01:19 first we need to understand what are the conservation needs
01:22 and what are the species that are most threatened.
01:25 So through our research, we use scientific analysis to find out
01:30 what's their distribution pattern like, what are the areas that they use for feeding, nursing,
01:35 what is their movement patterns, through that we can target
01:38 what are the actions that are needed to conserve these species.
01:41 [Music]
01:48 Some of the most commonly encountered species are the coastal cetacean species,
01:53 for example, the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, the Irawati dolphins,
01:57 Indo-Pacific finless porpoises, dugongs and also Brutus whales.
02:00 [Music]
02:12 Kwid said these endangered marine mammals play a crucial role in our marine ecosystem.
02:18 However, due to a lack of awareness and knowledge,
02:21 many of these species are at risk of encountering human-wildlife conflict.
02:26 [Music]
02:28 Depending on the level of protection the area has,
02:31 the marine mammals may have higher risk to issues such as overfishing,
02:36 which reduces the prey availability in our waters,
02:39 the problems of marine pollution, it causes accidental ingestion in their stomach,
02:44 which causes death to these marine mammals.
02:47 And one of the main threats which affects all marine mammals globally as well
02:51 is the bycatch problem, which is the accidental entanglement in fishing gears.
02:56 [Music]
03:03 As Malaysia's marine mammals are understudied, Kwid said researchers struggle
03:07 to find the best way to prevent dolphins from getting trapped in fishing nets.
03:12 [Music]
03:14 There are not many other studies that work on mitigating bycatch
03:18 for this species that we have in Malaysia.
03:20 So one of the things that we have started this year is the trial of acoustic pingas.
03:25 It emits a high-frequency sound so that the marine mammals are aware
03:30 that there are nets in front of them and so that they don't swim into the nets
03:34 and get entangled in these fishing nets.
03:37 [Music]
03:48 In addition to Kwid's research in the waters of Perak,
03:51 are the Breeders' Whale Project in Langkawi and the Dugong Project in Johor.
03:57 MARSET also serves as a platform for young Malaysians interested in marine conservation.
04:02 It firmly believes that experience is the best teacher,
04:05 especially when it comes to raising awareness.
04:08 To date, the NGO has reached more than 20,000 people
04:12 and over 1,000 Malaysians have benefited from the volunteer opportunities provided.
04:18 Through these volunteering opportunities that we provide,
04:21 we hope to give them the opportunity to go out and see for themselves
04:25 these marine mammals that are out here and the problems that they can see.
04:29 For example, marine pollution, being entangled in fishing nets, all these.
04:34 I think if someone can see it right in front of their eyes,
04:37 it's more effective and teaches them a better lesson.
04:41 [Music]
04:48 As Malaysia has a very long coastline,
04:50 we hope that more habitats for marine mammals
04:52 will be recognised as important marine mammal areas
04:55 and we hope that the survival of these endangered marine mammals
05:00 will be improved in the long term.
05:02 [Music]
05:22 [Music]

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