Urban canal teeming with fish

Calming sight: Visitors stopping to admire the fish at the Sia Boey Urban Archaeological Park in George Town, Penang. – ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star

WHEN the Sia Boey Urban Archaeological Park in Penang was open to the public last year, its 250m-long water feature had about 300 koi and tilapia fingerlings.

Thanks to the generous public who fed them twice a day, the fish population has swelled to over 3,000, each the length of a human forearm now and stressing out the enclosed eco-system.