First Lynas, Next Beluga.

Welcome to Bolehland, land of many possibilities! 

Beluga caviar (is the roe or eggs delicacy), the highly priced gourmet's wishful dish. And it is coming to Malaysia. But wait, it is so expensive that locals will probably don't have the opportunity to feast on it.  

Malaysia will be exporting the roe from the beluga fish (sturgeon) in the near future. A large scale farming in the river of  Malaysia's oldest national park is happening right now. The project claims it provides locals with jobs - is just a wishful thinking as all low paying jobs have always been taken up by immigrants. Beluga is a large predator that feed on other smaller fish and it will be introduced at Kuala Tahan, the main gateway to the National Park. According to officials, there is nothing to worry about the farm in the pristine river. Yes, nothing to worry if there is no accidental release into the river. But how can we guarantee that these predators do not escape into the wild? Accident can happen and in Malaysia, it will. Imagine a scenario of a large scale flood with huge floating logs rushing down that could easily knock off the cages and cause the release of the beluga fish. It will eventually caused local endemic fish to be wiped out. The lessons from snake heads destroying the ecosystem of U.S.A. is not going to worry our local politicians. Money are to be made and make them before their days are up. 

Lynas is a time bomb. Beluga will be the next. Welcome to Visit Malaysia Year 2014.

Drive to restock river fish nationwide with native species

May 2, 2010

By RUBEN SARIO
Star

KOTA KINABALU: A high-tech approach is being taken to restock rivers nationwide with native species of fish, particularly those with high market value.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili his ministry’s biotechnology division was undertaking the breeding of native fish species such as ikan kelah in the peninsula, ikan pelian in Sabah and ikan empurau in Sarawak.

He said fingerlings of these species would then be released into rivers in the respective states and this would enable rural folk to receive better income from the sale of these freshwater fish.

“This will help the Government’s poverty eradication efforts,” he said after participating in a community fish harvesting event at the Sungai Kanarom in the Kota Marudu district, some 90km from the city, Sunday.

Noting the bountiful catch by Kampung Pompodon villagers, Dr Maximus said this was due to the community-based river conservation initiative, locally called tagal, that banned any fishing activities along the waterway, except once a year on an agreed date.

He said the tagal system, long practised in Kota Marudu and other Sabah districts, had been a good tool to promote rural tourism.

In this regard, Dr Maximus said the Cabinet had recently tasked the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry to conduct an inventory of all tagal systems in Sabah and Sarawak and provide funding to further promote the initiative in the two states.

Kota Marudu district fisheries officer Masrani Madun said the tagal system in Kg Pompodon, which started in 1998, was one of the oldest in the district out of 23 villages that practised it to date.

Dr Maximus said the Kampung Pompodon tagal system was one of the most successful in Kota Marudu due to the cooperation of the members as well as their discipline in adhering to the rules and conditions.

The tagal system is enforced under the Native Customary Law of Sabah and under Section 35, 36 and 37 of the Freshwater and Aquaculture Fisheries Enactment 2003.

Logging, land clearing caused mass fish deaths in S'wak

Feb 20, 2009
Star
Logging, land clearing caused mass fish deaths in S'wak
By STEPHEN THEN

MIRI: The unusual mass deaths of fish in Sarawak inland rivers recently was caused by suffocation due to siltation triggered by logging, plantations and land-clearing projects, according to the Ministry of Environment and Public Health.

Investigations found that certain developers had taken advantage of loopholes in environmental assessment laws to carry out their projects without having to go through scrutiny by his ministry, said Assistant Minister Dr Abang Abdul Rauf Abang Zen said on Friday.

In very frank press conference here, Dr Rauf said the blame for the "fishy" phenomenon lay squarely with these development companies.

Over the past two months, tonnes of fishes from inland river tributaries in several parts of Sarawak had suddenly died en-masse. This phenomenon was seen in Bakun, Mukah, Kapit, Marudi and even in the Baram River near Miri.

The worst-hit river was the Balui River in Bakun, the site of the RM6 billion hydro-electric dam project in central Sarawak.

Dr Rauf said on Friday that he and the enforcement officers from the Sarawak Natural Resources and Environment Board had gone personally to investigate the dead fish cases.

"We carried out investigations from helicopters and on the ground and had carried out tests on water-samples and on the dead fish.

"It was found that the fishes died because of suffocation. For example in Bakun, there was a very high degree of suspended solids in the rivers in Belaga, Balui and Baleh - six to 20 times the normal level.

This was caused by logging and land-clearing in the upstream of the Bakun hydro dam. The death of the fishes was not due to the dam construction itself," he said.

Dr Rauf said his ministry found that some giant timber companies had by-passed Environmental Impact Assessment requirements by splitting their projects into very small packages.

Under the state EIA law, any development project measuring 500 hectares and above must be subjected to EIA.

"These companies split their projects into small packages in order to escape the EIA. For example, some companies with licence to open 10,000 hectares of land had split their project into small ones measuring 499 hectares each.

"By doing this, they escape the need to carry out EIA. This happened in the upstream of Bakun. That is why these projects had caused excessive siltation and killed a lot of fish. These fish were washed down by the rivers during the floods," he explained.

Dr Rauf said his ministry will hold a meeting with members of the Sarawak Timber Association early next month to find a way for them to cooperate to stop the environmental degradation.

He said the state government wants to balance the need for land development with the need to protect and conserve the environment and its natural resources because interior folks depended on these natural assets for their daily survival.

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Sunday February 22, 2009

Star
Bakun area overlogged, says SAM

MIRI: The Bakun hydro-electric dam catchment area has been overlogged by more than 40,000ha, an environmental group said.

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) said the original catchment area for the Bakun project in central Sarawak, as stipulated in the first environmental impact assessment report, was supposed to be 64,000ha.

However, more than 100,000ha have already been logged, said SAM field officer for Sarawak Jok Jau Evong, adding that ground studies in Bakun showed that forests outside the original catchment area had been subjected to intensive logging.

“It seems that the logging is being carried out all the way from Bakun to the forested areas earmarked for clearing under the proposed Murum Dam project.

“A large portion of the forest within the Murum Dam area has already been logged,” he told The Star yesterday.

He said the whole area from Bakun to Murum would eventually be cleared of all timber.

“SAM is worried that the ecosystem will suffer even greater damage because of the massive land clearing,” he said.

Evong was commenting on Assistant State Environment and Public Health Minister Dr Abang Rauf Abang Zen’s statement that tonnes of fish in Bakun had died recently due to excessive siltation in the Bakun catchment area.

He said this practice had caused serious siltation in the river systems in Bakun and had contributed to the suffocation of a large number of fishes.

Under Sarawak’s Natural Resour­ces and Environment Board laws, any land development project measuring 500ha and above must be subjected to EIA scrutiny and approval.

Evong said the authorities must monitor all land development projects regardless of the size because all of them contribute to destruction of the environment, riverine resources and wildlife.
Dr Rauf, when asked yesterday how big an area had been logged in the Bakun catchment region, replied that he did not have the exact figure.

Invasion of the predator fish

This blog has been championing the right of wildlife. Wildlife is best left in the wild. But when homospiens play GOD, the biodiversity is turned upside down. This is happening all over the world. Unless it affected us economically, nobody will think a hoot about this issue. Now it is affecting Malaysia. And now some people are waking up to this new menace - the predator fish! Our biodiversity of marine life could be heading for extinction! Welcome to Bolehland!

-------------------read story below-------------------

NST Online
2008/10/06
By : Jennifer Gomez and Brenda Lim

An angling enthusiast with a peacock bass. The peacock bass and zebra cichlid (below) are causing havoc with riverine biodiversity in Perak and the Klang Valley. Photo courtesy of NST

KUALA LUMPUR: Local fish in ponds and rivers in Perak and the Klang Valley are in danger of being wiped out due to two highly aggressive predator fishes which are wreaking havoc in the waterways.

Environmentalists have raised the alarm that if the biological invasion by the carnivorous peacock bass and the zebra cichlid (both from the cichlid family) is not checked, it will cause havoc on biodiversity and the livelihood of riverine fishermen.

Where these two predator fish are found, they have moved to the top of the fish chain, even attacking the original "king" of Malaysian predator fish, the toman.

And that is why local fishermen are hauling in fewer toman, haruan, sebarau and udang galah.

These predator fish attack in groups and their prey are known to beach themselves in futile attempts to escape being eaten.

DHI Water and Environment Sdn Bhd environmental consultant Mohd Zambri Mohd Akhir is particularly concerned about the threat posed by the peacock bass.

"Now you can find these fish in Chenderoh, the most downstream dam in Perak. If it enters the other river systems in Malaysia that has unique local species, it is going to cause irreversible damage," warned Zambri.

He said the peacock bass was already robbing riverine fishermen of their livelihood as the problem had been around for nearly a decade.

"Fishermen in Batu Gajah and Tanjung Tualang are already facing this problem as their income has been steadily suffering over the years.

"The supply of udang galah is also greatly reduced, depriving fishermen of a decent income."

The peacock bass is from the Amazon in South America and can grow up to five kilogrammes. It breeds fast and protects its eggs and fry, giving it a high survival rate.

The zebra cichlid from Africa, however, only grows up to palm size, but is known for its notorious feeding habits.

Fisherman Ishanorzaman Jaimit from Kampung Gajah confirmed that there were many peacock bass in the mining ponds and rivers in Perak, but said that they only ate the small fish.

There is also increasing demand for the peacock bass. Fishermen get RM5 per kg for it, while the middlemen sell it for RM6.50 per kg.

The peacock bass is not usually available in restaurants but it is known to make it to the dinner tables of fishermen and anglers who catch it.

Vincent Chin, owner of the Malaysian Fishing Net website, however, insists that the peacock bass is a real threat.

"It was brought into the country as an aquarium fish more than 10 years ago. It is a real nuisance because it feeds on local fish. They are vicious and attack like a pack of wolves," he said.

Another riverine fisherman, Muhammad Isa, said the zebra cichlid, nicknamed ikan belang for its distinctive stripes, was a bigger threat.

"The zebra cichlid is a bigger threat to the local species than the peacock bass," he said.

"In rivers and ponds in my area, the peacock bass is noted for eating only the perimpin (freshwater version of the ikan bilis).

"The zebra cichlid, however, eats most fry. Even if we haul in these zebra cichlids, we do not eat them."

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PREDATOR FISH: 'It got into rivers by accident'
NST Online
2008/10/06

KUALA LUMPUR: How did the peacock bass get into our waters?

Nik Mohd Rahimi, who manages Fly Fishing and Lure Casting Centre in Taman Pertanian Bukit Cahaya in Shah Alam, said that it got into the Perak waterways by accident.

"Some breeders were keeping it in a pond, and one rainy season, the pond overflowed, and that's how it got into the river system."

Nik Mohd said there was once a demand for the peacock bass as an aquarium fish, but owners soon found them troublesome to be kept as pets.

"It would eat the whole time, resulting in a lot of waste. After some time, the owners got fed up of having to clean the aquarium all the time and just dumped them into the waterways, increasing their numbers in the rivers."

He said although the fish has yet to make its way to Malaysian dinner tables in a big way, anglers and diners in Batu Gajah were creating a demand for it.

"You can get it in Batu Gajah for RM5 to RM7 per kg," he said.

Nik Mohd said he did not like the taste of the fish when he first ate it in 2001 but had since developed an immense liking for it.

"About 10 years ago, when we first caught it, it was a few hours later before we took it to a restaurant to get it cooked.

"It was horrible because the flesh turns pinkish if you don't cook it immediately. However, the kids just loved it deep-fried and with soy sauce on it."

He said the bigger ones were best eaten steamed, but advised not to eat the skin as it had a very strong smell.

"The flesh is juicy and tender, like the cod fish. The bones and head are usually used as stock for Chinese herbal soups," Nik Mohd said..

In South America, it is a delicacy, where the fish is grilled with salt wrapped in banana leaf.

Beasts Are Beasts - Who Cares!

BIG headline : 600 fish die at Langkawi Underwater World

LANGKAWI: About 600 fish worth hundreds of thousands of ringgit have mysteriously died at Langkawi Underwater World.......(The Star, 26 Sept 2007)

In Bolehland, beasts are beasts. So who cares whether they live or die. The stories of dead animals in parks, sanctuaries, zoos and other so-called tourism attractions had became cemeteries for many animals.

These cruel deeds will not stop when there are humans who are willing to gain by caging the beasts. Once in a while there will be some big guns embarking on a mammoth project. The elephant sanctuary, the rhinoceros sanctuary, safari parks - many had failed, many beasts dead, much taxpayers' monies lost...but no one seems to learn. NO ONE!

Bolehland is the place where uncompetent people seem to take charge of such projects. People who have no interest of animals at heart. People who want quick profit from the beasts. And these people have the resources to cause hardship to many.

History will be repeated again and again. Check below some of the deads while in custodian in Bolehland.


The headline today - The Star 26 Sept 2007

600 fish dead! And few billion dollars?

Click to enlarge the table. Notice that some sanctuaries have more dead elephants - a case of incompetent and poor management?

Carelessness was the right word used in this article when the Rhinoceros santuary was enventually wiped out of the beasts.

When are we going to learn that animals are best left alone in the wild?

When are we going to stop playing God?