Friday July 3, 2009
Terengganu lifts fishing ban in bid to rid Lake Kenyir of imported giant fish
SETIU: Wanted! – Kenyir Monsters. And the bounty is RM10,000 for each Arapaima gigas anglers catch.
Announcing the angler’s dream offer, Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said said Terengganu has lifted the fishing ban in Lake Kenyir from yesterday until Aug 15, except in areas gazetted as kelah sanctuaries and waters bordering the National Park.
“We want to see the Arapaima gigas caught alive and we will reward the angler with RM10,000,” he said after visiting Nadziyah Mohd Ladar, 39, widow of State Fire and Rescue Department diver Aladi Hasan at Kampung Buloh here yesterday.
Aladi drowned while on a rescue mission at Lake Kenyir on June 17.
Ahmad said the Kenyir Development Authority would issue permits to anglers but on condition that they release other species of fishes caught.
Bereft kin: Ahmad Said meeting Nadziyah at her home in Kg Buloh, Setiu. With them are Nadziyah’s mother Lijah Dahaman (right), daughter Puteri Dieya Norumaira, eight, and year-old son Putera Danish Wafik. He said anglers were only allowed to use fishing rods and approved fishing gadgets to catch the fish while anglers would have to shoulder the cost of boat rentals.
He said the state was concerned that the giant fish, a freshwater species commonly found in the Amazon and Orinoco rivers of South America, could affect the population of other fish species in Kenyir.
Ahmad said the state planned to relocate the captured Arapaima gigas to Kemaman Zoo.
Recently, State Fisheries Department director Munir Mohd Nawi said a team of biologists would conduct research on the giant fish.
Reports on the so-called “Kenyir Monster” surfaced after the deaths of two men on June 17.
Kenyir bird park supervisor Helmi Sukhri Hisham, 28, drowned after falling from his boat into the lake. Aladi who dove into the lake to search for Helmi Sukhri also drowned.
News Poll
- Who says you can’t strike it rich in garbage?
- ‘Toyol’ scam leaves elderly woman RM700,000 poorer
- Seven women among 29 held at two wild parties
- 150m-long skylight comes crashing down at new bus terminal
- Ministry staff to feel at home while at work
- Brothers argue over inheritance at mum’s grave
- PM: Fighter jet engine reported stolen to cops
- Roadmap to hit the road
- Four workers injured in collapse
- Vagabond beaten to death
- Singapore raises school fees for foreigners
- ‘Toyol’ scam leaves elderly woman RM700,000 poorer
- Seven women among 29 held at two wild parties
- Who says you can’t strike it rich in garbage?
- Famous Ipoh fare on show during food festival
- Four workers injured in collapse
- Brothers argue over inheritance at mum’s grave
- Ministry staff to feel at home while at work
- 150m-long skylight comes crashing down at new bus terminal
- 13 fined for offence at CIQ
RSS
