Page 10 - 01/2022 PULSE@FASS e-Bulletin

Issue no. 1 | 2022

Dialog Seagrass-Watch Programme at Tanjung

Kopok, Sungai Johor

By Dr Jillian Ooi
On 2 March 2022, the Department of Geography and
Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences launched a citizen
science program dedicated to seagrass ecosystem
conservation at Sungai Johor, in collaboration with Dialog
Berhad, Reef Check Malaysia, and the MyKasih
Foundation. Dialog Berhad is an integrated technical
service provider to the oil, gas and petrochemical industry.
It operates an industrial complex and deep-water port at
the estuary of Sungai Johor. This program came about as
a result of rising concerns by stakeholders over the
decline of seagrass meadows in the Sungai Johor estuary
Dr Jillian Ooi shows a team of volunteers how to measure seagrass
due to large-scale industrial development.
health indicators at 5 m intervals along the 50 m transect line. This
will be repeated every month for the next 3 years.
The Dialog Seagrass-Watch Program involves establishing
scientists—the Dialog
a community of voluntary citizen
Seagrass-Watchers—comprising of Dialog staff and local
villagers who will collect monthly data on the health of the
seagrass ecosystems at selected sites.

At the launch event, Dr Jillian Ooi and postgraduate
students from the Department of Geography and Institute
of Ocean and Earth Sciences trained volunteers in the use
of the Seagrass-Watch Monitoring Method, a standardized
methodology for seagrass citizen scientists that is globally
recognized for its scientific rigour. Fourteen volunteers
were brought by boat to the Tanjung Kopok seagrass
meadow at low tide, where they received hands-on
training on methods to identify seagrass species, to
conduct the Seagrass-Watch monitoring method and to
Unfortunately, a huge lightning storm appeared halfway through
observe charismatic animals living within the ecosystem.
the training session and the participants ran helter-skelter back to
the boat and safely to shore.
Training sessions will be repeated monthly to build up a
sizeable pool of trained citizen scientists who will serve as
custodians of their seagrass ecosystems. Data collected
will be used to develop an environmental conservation
plan for the Sungai Johor estuary, with plans for
submission to state and local authorities.

Training was aborted because of the storm but will continue next
Participants observing seagrass and the marine life within it. month. Despite being tossed around in a tiny boat, being soaked
Sightings included mud crabs, prawns, marine sponges, anemones through to the skin and trudging through mud, all volunteers have
and sea stars. There were also white-bellied sea eagles soaring asked to participate in next month’s session - which was a huge
above. relief!
10 | Pulse @ FASS