The aquaculture entrepreneur is passionate about spreading shark conservation awareness.
His “No Shark Fin” outreach programme, under the Sabah Sharks Protection Association (SSPA), has seen the 45-year-old spreading the message to over 15,000 students and almost 900 teachers for about a year now.
During that period, he visited 74 schools and kindergartens to share his love for sharks and the importance of conserving their habitat.
In each session, which lasts between 30 and 40 minutes, Yu shares the reasons sharks are important to the ecosystem and the types of sharks that can be found in Sabah and elsewhere.
“I explain why we should be proud of sharks that are found in Sabah.
“Borneo is one of the very few places in the world where you can find the very rare true freshwater shark, the Glyphis species, in the Kinabatangan river,” he added.
And no thanks to the Hollywood “Jaws” blockbusters, Yu often has to dispel the fear of sharks among his audience.
“In the last half a century, there have been no deaths caused by shark attacks in Sabah,” said Yu, who is also a mangrove and coral reef tour guide.
Yu also drives home the message that shark finning and consumption of shark fins are the reason the predators are declining worldwide.
“The feedback I have received is very positive. I have teachers thanking me for sharing facts that they were unaware of, and students regardless of age group always express sadness when I show them photographs of sharks being finned.”
Yu is also lucky to have the perfect person on whom to practise his presentation for children: his 6-year-old son.
“I must capture the attention of those I reach out to, and I am always mindful that I am representing marine biologists and conservationists who want to make a positive impact on the environment.
“I am happy that my presentation will inspire the younger generation to view this fantastic animal as something to behold rather than consume,” Yu said.
Yu, whose background is in biology with a major in zoology, has been able to carry out his outreach work with the support of the Global Green Fund and the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
He will be speaking at the Sabah Sharks and Rays Forum here on June 21 and 22.
The forum titled “Exploring Synergies between Fisheries, Conservation and Tourism” is jointly organised by the Land Empowerment Animals People (LEAP), WWF-Malaysia and SSPA.
Official: We’ll prevent tourists seeing killing of manta rays