New rules coming after 2 tonnes of African catfish released into lake

 The fisheries department takes action after complaints about the release of the invasive species at a fishing competition by Mardi.

The fisheries department said about 1,300 African catfish, weighing about 1.5kg each, were released into the Serdang agro exposition lake. (Facebook pic)

KUALA LUMPUR:

 New regulations are to be drafted to control the release of fish, especially invasive species, into public waters.

The fisheries department announced the move today following complaints about the release of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) into the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang lake in conjunction with a fishing competition organised by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi).

The fisheries department said several mitigation measures were agreed upon after a site visit and discussions with relevant officials.

“The fishing competition’s secretariat will install additional hapa nets, provide bins to collect African catfish caught during the competition, and disseminate awareness material while carrying out fishing activities throughout the programme.

“Mardi will ensure compliance with the installation of nets, open the lake to controlled fishing activities, and coordinate the inventory and disposal of alien fish after the programme concludes,” the fisheries department said.

It said about 1,300 African catfish, weighing about 1.5kg each or a total of two tonnes were released into the lake on May 29, without any notification or request for advisory services from the Selangor fisheries office.

The department said the public should seek technical advice from the state fisheries office before carrying out any fish release activities into public waters. - FMT