Qualla: Pom Pom Island

Pom Pom Island: Introduction

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Profmauri, CC BY-SA 3.0. Seven green turtles per hour. That is the average count on a typical dive around Pom Pom Island, a speck of coral sand in the Celebes Sea measuring just 2.3 kilometers around at high tide. The turtles are not the main attraction, exactly, because on Pom Pom everything competes for attention: flamboyant cuttlefish pulsing with color, blue-ringed octopuses tucked into crevices, frogfish disguised as sponges. This island sits within the Coral Triangle, the zone of highest marine biodiversity on the planet, and the waters around it contain life in a concentration that borders on the absurd.

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Image: Profmauri | CC BY-SA 3.0

Pom Pom Island: A Sandbar at the Edge of the Shelf

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Profmauri, CC BY-SA 3.0. Pom Pom Island rises less than two meters above the high-tide line, a flat disc of sand and pandanus trees surrounded by a fringing reef four kilometers long. The reef flat is narrow on the western side, just 50 to 75 meters wide, but expands to several hundred meters around most...

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Image: Profmauri | CC BY-SA 3.0

Pom Pom Island: The Coral Triangle's Bounty

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Profmauri, CC BY-SA 3.0. A study by UMS, WWF, Sabah Parks, and the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands found a record 43 species of mushroom corals in the nearby Tun Sakaran Marine Park and suggested the region may hold the world's highest marine biodiversity. The fish team encountered 844 s...

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Image: Profmauri | CC BY-SA 3.0

Pom Pom Island: Turtles and the Work of Protection

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Profmauri, CC BY-SA 3.0. Both green and hawksbill turtles nest on Pom Pom's beaches, making the island one of six nesting sites among the northeast Semporna islands. Green turtles nest year-round, with peak activity from May to September. Hawksbills nest in smaller numbers but are regularly seen on the r...

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Image: Profmauri | CC BY-SA 3.0

Pom Pom Island: Paradise and Its Shadows

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Supardisahabu, CC BY-SA 4.0. Pom Pom's remoteness is part of its appeal and part of its vulnerability. There is no public transport to the island; resorts ferry their own guests, and the boat ride from Semporna takes 35 to 60 minutes. Both Pom Pom and nearby Mataking were featured in the 1998 season of Exped...

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Image: Supardisahabu | CC BY-SA 4.0