Sipadan - Don't Waste Your Time

[Isistius]

Fair? Is it fair to Malaysians that a precious national resource is being trashed by (mostly) American and Japanese divers to put pocket change into the hands of a few dive operators? Is it fair to Malaysians that many can't afford a dive trip to Sipadan and when their children can, it won't be worth going to? Malaysia has no obligation to be fair to foreign divers--their obligations are to preserve their national heritage and to exploit their resources to their maximum benefit.

I would argue that Sipadan is in better shape as a dive destination then it ever would be as an unprotected site-- fished out, dynamited, exploited. That doesn't excuse poor stewardship of the park, which cannot be sensibly improved by charging a lot more for access to the park (please note that I am completely in support of park fees, just not ridiculously high ones). The solution of capping numbers and operating on a first come, first serve basis (which is the way I think Sipadan was supposed to be operated) is still better than charging more money. Charging more money will absolutely ensure that many Malaysians won't be able to afford it. If you really think charging more money is a solution, then why not charge $10 000 per day to access the park? That will ensure that only a very few people will be able to access the park, mostly rich executives and celebrities. There will be far fewer people diving the reef, but probably 99% of the people on Scuba Board would never have a chance to dive Sipadan. Incidentally, it doesn't matter where this sort of approach is taken--what if local dive operators charged $100 per day more for American divers who came up to dive Port Hardy? It doesn't make any sense.

The fact that most Malaysians can't afford to go to Sipadan is due to bigger issues than how much a daily entrance is to Sipadan--and even if the daily fee was waived for Malaysian citizens probably many would not be able to afford scuba equipment.
But this highlights my point--which is that increasing fees to a very high amount will only serve to limit the opportunities of those who happen to make less than others.

 

[vladimir]

I would argue that Sipadan is in better shape as a dive destination then it ever would be as an unprotected site-- fished out, dynamited, exploited.

Agreed. That is the reason to allow and encourage tourism--to provide economic incentives to not rape and pillage a fragile environment.

That doesn't excuse poor stewardship of the park, which cannot be sensibly improved by charging a lot more for access to the park (please note that I am completely in support of park fees, just not ridiculously high ones).

More money and fewer visitors would not help improve stewardship of the park? Not necessarily, but more likely than not, I think.

Charging more money will absolutely ensure that many Malaysians won't be able to afford it.

True--I'd have no problem with a tiered cost structure.

If you really think charging more money is a solution, then why not charge $10 000 per day to access the park? That will ensure that only a very few people will be able to access the park, mostly rich executives and celebrities. There will be far fewer people diving the reef, but probably 99% of the people on Scuba Board would never have a chance to dive Sipadan.

I am okay with $10k, and I am okay with no Scubaboarders being able to afford it. (After all, I've already been there, before the place was spoiled. ) But in my original post on the subject I said, '$100, or what the market will bear.' There is a price where supply and demand will balance; it might be $100 and it might be $10k--but clearly at the current price there is more demand than supply.

This is another good example of "The Tragedy of the Commons," where those exploiting a commonly-held resource have no incentive to conserve it. It is up to the government to step in and set a price on the resource that prices-in its value to future generations.

 

[driftwood]

For such an expensive sport, divers are such cheap people when it come to fees for places to dive. Pebble Beach is a great public golf course. Try to get a tie time as one of the great unwashed.

Let the best minds come up with the number of dives a day and auction off those spots to the resorts. Set the minimum bid to cover an comprehensive park ranger presence for the site to ensure its preservation. Those who want to dive there will seek out the resorts with the permits and pay the toll. The open market will decide which resorts survive based on service and access.

 

[Nishan]

I was in Sipadan with a group of friends in August last year and again in July this year and had some great diving and didnt have any problems getting to Sipadan itself. We stayed at Seaventures and had two dives at Sipadan and one at Mabul or Kapalai every day for the 7 days we were there plus unlimited diving off the Seaventures platform. This time we even got an additional trip to Sipadan for our group (at an extra cost) so had 4 Sipadan dives on one day!

The island can get crowded but we managed to avoid the crowds most time on the dives and on several days it was just our group of 5 on the boat. On both trips the marine life was amazing. Heaps of turtles, schools of barracuda and trevally, including both on one dive at Barracuda point, the school of bumphead parrotfish and plenty of reef sharks. Mabul, Kapalai and the Seaventures platform were also great. Lots of macro. Nudibranchs, mandarinfish, pipefish, mantis shrimp, cuttlefish etc. Also a lot of turtles at Mabul and some big groupers at Kapalai. Of course I cant compare with the past so it could have been better then. But I have dived in Sri Lanka, Maldives, Thailand, Australia, Indonesia and Florida and found Sipadan to be the most consistent.

Maybe Seaventures has some political connection to get permits and maybe I was lucky with the marine life. But just want to say that some of us have had very positive Sipadan experiences in recent times so I dont think its all doom and gloom.

 

[gnugnu]

I stayed at SMART for 1 week in mid-July this year and had 2 dives at Sipadan every day - we didn't hear any stories of people being turned back. Unfortunately it looks like this has changed but wasn't a problem in busy July.

 

[msreefa]

I will be on the Celebes Explorer including Mataking Island in Nov. does all of this apply? I hate to think so. We have been looking forward to this trip...thanks.

 

[Rickg]

I will be on the Celebes Explorer including Mataking Island in Nov. does all of this apply? I hate to think so. We have been looking forward to this trip...thanks.

When we were onboard the Celebes Explorer in December 2007 we went to Sipadan Island 4 days out of the 7 that we were onboard. Each day at Sipadan we made 4 dives there and then returned to anchorage near Mabul for an evening or night dive if anyone was interested. We were told that the Sipadan permits (at that time anyway) were "per diver" and not "per dive" which was why were were able to do 4 dives a day at Sipadan.

Here is link to my trip report. Hope you have a great trip.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/malaysia-singapore/213465-sipadan-dive-trip.html

 

[Eskasi]

I do hope it is better....I will be there in a week for 7 days at SWV resort... Will post my experiences

 

[-Phoenix-]

Well it makes sense, It was fine in Juli, but in September the new ranger came (as said by Snappy).

I am planning on visiting Mabul/Sipadan next may, by that time we will have another ranger so who knows

Now I just need to pick a place to stay and an operator to dive with But thats for another thread.

 

[Eskasi]

Just got back from SWV resort where I stayed for 6 nights. Not including the 1 day when I did my checkout dive, I managed to go to Sipadan for 4 days out of 5 and did 3 dives there each day. I got very lucky with the permits. Also, it is the slow season right now and I was told it won't be like this when the resorts are full. The guard may change after a few months too so who knows?

Diving was awesome and I got some good photos too..... good luck to all those who are planning to go. I hope you get as lucky as I did