Sabah sharks face danger of skin infection

 

An infected whitetip shark at Sipadan, Sabah.

KOTA KINABALU: Scientists are trying to get to the bottom of why a skin infection is afflicting a shark species in Sabah’s east coast.

A team of Universiti Malaysia Sabah researchers and their counterparts from Sabah Parks are now at the diving paradise of Pulau Sipadan, near Semporna, to carry out the probe.

Sabah Parks education division chief Nasrulhakim Maidin told FMT that a preliminary report on the team’s findings was expected in early May.

Diver Jason Isley of Scubazoo, a Sabah-based international filming service provider, posted photos on his social media of an infected whitetip shark he photographed near Sipadan in early April.

Isley spotted the shark at the well- known diving spot Barracuda Point. It had part of its flesh “eaten” by the infection .

He said he first noticed white patches on the sharks early last year.

Isley said he had received feedback that sharks kept in aquariums also suffered similar infections when the water was too warm or if the salt content of the water decreased.

Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, Prof Mohamed Shariff Mohamed Din was quoted in the media as saying that the skin infections on the sharks was likely due to a fungal infection known as fusariosis which attacks marine creatures’ immune systems.

Sharif said the immunocompromised conditions could be brought about by environmental changes such as sea water temperatures and salinity as well as pollution. - FMT