Malaysia - Coastal and Marine Ecosystem Factsheet (WRI)

Published: October 14, 2009, 3:20 pm

Updated: December 6, 2011, 10:52 am

Topics:

Marine Ecology (main)

The coast of Sibuan Island, located off of Sabah, Malaysia. Photo by Mark McGinley

Introduction Malaysia (Malaysia - Coastal and Marine Ecosystem Factsheet (WRI)) is situated in southeast Asia. It consists of two regions: Peninsular Malaysia in the west lying between Thailand and Singapore, and the eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak located in the east on the island of Borneo. The two regions are separated by the South China Sea. The total land area of the country is 328550km². Malaysia is a federal country, divided into thirteen states plus the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan Island..

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Factsheet

	MALAYSIA	ASIA (excl. Middle Eaast)	WORLD
COASTAL STATISTICS, 2000
Length of coastline {a} (km)	9,323	288,459	1,634,701
Percent of population within 100 km of the coast	98%	X	39%
Area of continental shelf (km2) {b}	335,914	5,514,288	24,285,959
Territorial sea (up to 12 nautical miles) (km2)	152,367	5,730,868	18,816,919
Claimed Exclusive Economic Zone (km2)	198,173	11,844,193	102,108,403
COASTAL BIODIVERSITY AND PROTECTED AREAS DATA, 1990s
Area of Mangrove Forests (km2)	1,659	40,330	169,452
Percent of Mangrove forests protected	7%	27%	13%
Number of Mangrove Species	36	51	70
Number of Seagrass Species	9	27	58
Number of Scleractinia Coral Genera {c}	72	79	X
International Legal Net Trade in Live Coral, 1997 (number of pieces) {d}	-130	-773,430	X
Number of Marine or Littoral Protected Areas,1999	111	831	3,636
Wetlands of International Importance, Extent (km2), 2000	384	31,212	730,116
FISHERIES PRODUCTION
Average Annual Capture (excludes aquaculture) in metric tons:
Marine Fish, 2000	1,257,573	36,516,371	84,411,066
Mulluscs and Crustaceans, 1997	187,864	7,959,125	12,055,801
Aquaculture Production (in metric tons):
Total (includes freshwater), 2000	167,898	41,305,773	45,715,559
Marine and Diadromous Fish, 1997	12,813	1,325,644	2,623,888
Mulluscs and Crustaceans, 1997	70,244	8,677,590	9,889,688
Aquatic Plants, 1997	X	7,123,694	7,241,754
FISH CONSUMPTION AND TRADE, 2000
Per Capita Food Supply from Fish and Fishery Products (kg/person)	58	18	16
Fish Protein as a% of Total Protein Supply	21%	10%	6%
Annual Trade in Fish and Fisheries Products Imports (thousand $US)	299,603	22,787,200	60,008,337
percent change since 1980	319%	X	275%
Exports ( $US)	199,001,000	16,839,046,000	54,570,489,000
percent change since 1980	57%	403%	258%
FISHING EFFORT, BOTH FRESHWATER AND MARINE
People Employed in Fishing and Aquaculture, 2000	100,666	28,890,352	36,116,329
Docked Fishery Vessels, 1995-98 (number) {e}	17,272	1,080,625	1,297,017

References and Further Reading

• Coastal and Marine EcosystemsWorld Resources Institute

See Also

• Malaysia Geography Collection

Citation

Institute, W. (2011). Malaysia - Coastal and Marine Ecosystem Factsheet (WRI). Retrieved from http://editors.eol.org/eoearth/wiki/Malaysia_-_Coastal_and_Marine_Ecosystem_Factsheet_(WRI)