About 10,000 tinfoil barb fish fry being released into Sungai Langat during a programme. — CHAN TAK KONG/The Star
ALIEN fishes lurking in our rivers threaten the existing ecosystem, says Universiti Putra Malaysia Faculty of Science Biology Department lecturer Prof Dr Mohammad Noor Amal Azmai.
He said ikan bandaraya had characteristics such as rapid growth, prolific breeding rate, lack of predators and tolerance to lower water quality.
To combat the issue, the Fisheries Department releases native fishes into the environment.
Over the past five years, it has released more than 1.11 million native fishes into rivers.
So far, four operations have been initiated this year, resulting in the release of 218,000 native river species, including freshwater prawns and ikan lampam (tinfoil barb).
The year 2022 saw the highest number of native species released, which was 355,450 across 10 species including tinfoil barb, freshwater prawns, golden belly barb (kerai), silver catfish (patin) and mahseer (kelah) at 13 locations.
Selangor Fisheries Department director Noraisyah Abu Bakar said they were tackling non- native fish and invasive non-native fish.
The invasive species are those that impact other species negatively and to an extent, its surroundings.
Ikan bandaraya, ikan baung ekor merah (Asian redtail catfish) and peacock bass are among the species the department has identified as invasive.
“Aquarium owners are unaware of the size a fish can reach and may feel bad about killing the animal,” she said.
For these owners, the only option was releasing them into a river but Noraisyah said this impacts the environment.
“Recently, we found an African catfish and when the Fisheries Research Institute (FRI) cut it open, it had freshwater prawns in its stomach.”
Noraisyah said a man had once contacted the department about two arapaima fish in his keeping.
He was told that it was illegal to release the fish into the river, but could not bring himself to kill them.
“We visited the man’s house and the arapaima was brought to Akuarium Tunku Abdul Aziz Rahman (AkuaTAR) in Batu Maung, Penang,” said Noraisyah.
At AkuaTAR, a special section is dedicated to invasive fish.
“His arapaima is now an educational resource for visitors to study. If necessary, the department will take the invasive fish and place them somewhere that does not upset the balance in the ecosystem.
“We have a district fisheries department to address issues like this,” she said, adding that there were quarantine centres for invasive fish.
She said fish owners could contact with the department to get clarity on such issues. — By MEGAT SYAHAR
