Foreign fish species dominate six rivers in Klang Valley, says Fisheries Dept

The Star

The Fisheries Department (DOF) has revealed that six rivers in the Klang Valley are now monopolised by foreign fish species, such as ikan bandaraya (Amazon sailfin catfish), black tilapia and keli afrika (African catfish).   DOF director-general Datuk Adnan Hussain expressed serious concern over this issue, noting that the prevalence of these foreign species could hinder the development of ecosystem biodiversity in these rivers.  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00 The Fisheries Department (DOF) has reported that six rivers in the Klang Valley are now

00:07 dominated by foreign fish species, including the Ikan Bandaraya, Amazon sailfin catfish,

00:13 black tilapia and African catfish.

00:16 The rivers involved are Sungai Kuyo, Sungai Klang, Sungai Keroh, Sungai Jinjang, Sungai

00:23 Gomba and Sungai Batu.

00:26 DOF Director-General Datuk Adnan Hussein expressed serious concern over this issue, noting that

00:32 the prevalence of these foreign species could hinder the development of ecosystem biodiversity

00:37 in these rivers.

00:38 "I urge all parties outside the DOF to act responsibly so as not to let go of fish that

00:47 we think we no longer want to keep, which can threaten the ecosystem, so that it is

00:53 not lost to the authorities such as the DOF to release it in the proper way."

00:59 "This campaign is for Indonesia, right?"

01:01 "Yes, this is for Indonesia, but we are giving a stand to the rivers that are reported to

01:08 have a slightly affected ecosystem with the original fish, especially fish that we have

01:13 not been able to give much to the economic value.

01:17 For example, the Ikan Bandaraya does not give much to the economic value compared to

01:22 the Ikan Bawang Iku Merah, which is caught in the Perang or Perak rivers.

01:27 This fish has a good economic value, so many parties outside the DOF can sell this fish

01:33 at a good price in the market, compared to the Ikan Peku or Ikan Tilapia Hitam."

01:39 He made these remarks during a press conference after launching the Foreign Fish Hunting Programme

01:44 with the community at Sungai Kuyo, Bukit Jalil on Sunday.

01:48 Adnan explained that the purpose of the hunting programme is to restore ecological balance

01:54 and ensure that the country's rivers remain safe for the reintroduction of native fish species.

01:59 He highlighted that, through this programme, over 600 foreign fish, weighing a total of

02:05 400 kilograms, were caught within two hours.

02:08 "The majority of the fish that were caught today were the Ikan Tilapia Hitam, the first

02:13 one, and the second one was the Ikan Bandaraya or Ikan Peliku.

02:18 We also caught the African Keli, the Jawa Lampang and the Jaguar from the Cek Lidih family

02:27 that we were able to catch this morning by the community."

02:33 This initiative is a collaboration between the DOF, Komuniti Pemburu Ikan Bandaraya,

02:39 government agencies, University Utara Malaysia, UUM, University Technology Mara,

02:46 RUITM and the private sector.

02:49 Thank you.

02:50 [END]

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