Snorkling, Sunscreen and Corals–A connection you need to be aware of.

I found this list of the Top 50 Best Dive Sites on CNNgo. While it is nice to know that there is still some pristine nature in the world it is up to us if they are to survive our current environmental crisis. I have always fancied scuba diving but haven't dived into it yet, settling instead for snorkling and amateur free diving. Living in the equatorial belt of Southeast Asia leaves one spoilt for choice as far as snorkling sites. Though I have not explored many of them yet, I enjoy the snorkling around Tioman Island off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Salang Beach, Northern Most Beach of Tioman Island

The house reefs around the main Island is not much to shout about except for the one off Salang Beach (northern most beach of Tioman). This is unfortunately due to over development on the main island with the culprit being an 18 holed golf course! Imagine putting a nitrate leacher next to pristine reefs–disaster. To view the nicest reefs, you have to get on outboards to small uninhabited islands just off Tioman Island's clear seas. Here soft-white-coral-sand islands with spectacular shallow corals abound. Schools of humphead parrot fish, colourful common parrotfish, neon flashes of damselfish and butterflyfish, florescent corals and tridicana clams, baby sharks, rays–a feast of vibrant colours and shapes in less than six feet of water. I have, even though a rare experience for snorkelers in Tioman, gotten close to a gang of sleek six-foot black tip reef sharks, followed a graceful eagle ray around and swam around a maze of boulder corals.

Tioman Island a natural paradise above and below sea level.

There is a lot to enjoy exploring a coral reef with all its life and variety in open display; not shy of us snorkelers and divers. What is not nice is to see dead or dying reefs. White natural coral sand are nice, but white corals in reefs is sad site of a struggling system and the sight of dead corals is a pity. Apart from climate change we snorkelers also put pressure of corals. This is mainly because of the lack of awareness of visitors to coral beaches on the do's and the don'ts. Here are some important common guidelines for visitors to Marine Parks than can help protect a reef.

Fun in the sun, use coral safe sunscreen.

Steps We Can Take To Maintain Healthy Coral Reefs

KEEP SHELLS AND CORALS WHERE THEY ARE

1. Do not collect shells and corals off the beach for your home deco or aquarium. They are are an integral part of the reefs chemistry. Corals need high concentration of limestone (calcium carbonate) to grow. Much of these are recycled from the decay of shells and naturally dying corals.

AVOID TOUCHING OR STEPPING ON CORALS

2. Avoid at all cost touching coral with uncovered hands or skin. Even a little sweat and bacteria from our skin can spark of a potentially life threatening disease on a coral. Be careful not to step on corals. If you are not very comfortable in the water wear a life vest so you do not have to worry about a foot hold in case you need it. Remember also that corals can sting, and some of them can be very painful. Best to wear a rubber glove.

USE CORAL SAFE SUNSCREEN OR A WETSUIT

3. Do you know that your choice of sunscreen is also important. A restaurant owner in Salang beach once lamented that a lot of the corals there are dying because of the bad effects of sunscreen chemicals leaching from snorkelers. You can read more about this in this article from on National Geographic's website–click here. You can choose to use coral safe sunscreen, it is available from Amazon.com if you can't find it in your local store or you can use a wetsuit instead of sunscreen to protect yourself from the sun when snorkelling.