Mabul ( ms, Pulau Mabul) is a small island off the southeastern coast of

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. The island has been a fishing village since the 1970s. After the 1990s, Mabul gained popularity with scuba divers due to its proximity to

Sipadan Sipadan ( ms, Pulau Sipadan) is the only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising from the seabed. It is located in the Celebes Sea off the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia. It was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct volcanic cone that ...

island. Located 15 kilometres from

, the island is roughly 0.2 square kilometers in size and around 2-3 meters above sea level. It is located on the northwest corner of a large reef nearly two kilometers long. Mabul island is administered as a part of

Semporna Semporna ( ms, Pekan Semporna) is the capital of the Semporna District in the Tawau Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 35,301 in 2010. History Semporna was founded soon after the British North Borneo Ch ...

Tawau Tawau (, Jawi: , ), formerly known as Tawao, is the capital of the Tawau District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the third-largest city in Sabah, after Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan. It is located on the Semporna Peninsula in the southeast coast of t ...

district.

Native settlements

The two main settlements on the island are Kampung Mabul and Kampung Musu. The 1999 census recorded approximately 2,000 villagers living in Mabul, half of them children under 14 years old. The majority are immigrants from relatively nearby clusters of islands in the southern

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. These residents are mainly

Bajau The Sama-Bajau include several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah (formally A'a Sama, "Sama people"); or are known by the exonym ...

Laut and Suluk Muslims who live a nomadic lifestyle. Basic amenities include a mosque, schools, community and fishermen's hall. The main transportation mode between places is via boat. As most residents mainly work as fishermen, the village's source of income depends on ocean-based products such as squid and fish. Traditional fishing methods are called "Payau" and "Sangkaliya". Mabul fishers prefer fishing close to the Malaysia–Philippine borders, perhaps due to the abundance of fish stocks. An average fishing trip will take 3 to 5 days out at sea. When the men return, their catches are sold at Semporna on the mainland. As of 2020, the population of Mabul is around 2000.

Sea life and the reef

Mabul's reef is on the edge of the continental shelf and the seabed surrounding the reef slopes out to a depth of 25 to 30 m. Flamboyant cuttlefish,

blue-ringed octopus Blue-ringed octopuses, comprising the genus ''Hapalochlaena'', are four highly venomous species of octopus that are found in tide pools and coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans, from Japan to Australia. They can be identified by their ye ...

mimic octopus The mimic octopus (''Thaumoctopus mimicus'') is a species of octopus from the Indo-Pacific region. Like other octopuses, it uses its chromatophores to disguise itself with its background. However, it is noteworthy for being able to impersonate a ...

and bobtail squids are common cephalopods found in the Mabul reef. Frogfish are prevalent; giant, painted and clown frogfish are regularly seen along with most of the scorpion fish family.Sipadan, Mabul Kapali, - Sabah's underwater treasure, published by Natural History Publications.

References

{{Islands of Sabah Islands of Sabah

Native settlements

Sea life and the reef

See also

References