Published on: Monday, February 04, 2008 |
Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Anglers Association (SAA) has welcomed the suggestion by WWF-Malaysia to curb exports on Humphead wrasse or known as mameng and ikan kerapu (Grouper) by setting the wheels in motion to keep the Live Reef Fish Trade (LRFT) in Sabah.
President Datuk Wilfred Lingham said the association had in fact proposed to the relevant ministry since last year to list the Giant Grouper as an endangered species and also expressed concern on the declining population of mameng in Sabah waters.
He said in order for the LRFT to be sustainable it needs an effective and proper legislation to be put in place as well as consistent enforcement by the relevant agencies.
"The demand market for this trade is just too huge in this region and unscrupulous traders will continue to 'gang rape' our ocean and natural resources in order to satisfy human greed.
"We should recognise the need to satisfy the palate of an exclusive class of people but it should not ever be the extinction of the species," he said in a statement here Sunday.
Wilfred said the mamengs are really caught by hook and line either by hobbyist anglers or traditional fishermen.
These exotic species were targeted by foreign fishermen using cyanide, which not only render the fish unconscious but also destroyed the habitat, he said.
As for Giant Groupers, he said these fish were being caught using 'long liners' with baited hooks numbering 1,000 to 2,000 at a depth of 90 to 100 metres also by foreign fishermen.
The number of giant groupers caught by small-scale fishermen and hobbyist anglers, however, he said was negligible.
