Zahari (right) and Teoh (left) holding ikan siakap fry in a basket before releasing them into the Tebrau Straits near Gelang Patah.
MORE than 500,000 hatchlings worth RM1.3mil have been released into the wild by the Johor Fisheries Department since January as part of plans to ensure sustainable marine life in the state.
Johor agriculture, agro-based industry and rural development committee chairman Datuk Zahari Sarip said the department had conducted 20 release initiatives for freshwater and saltwater marine life.
“As of Wednesday (Oct 5), we released 508,400 freshwater and saltwater baby fish, crabs, and prawns into the open sea and rivers in all districts in the state.
“This is part of the state government’s plan to ensure that our food source remains sustainable, thereby benefitting local fishermen in terms of catch,” he said.
Zahari was speaking after visiting the siakap farm and fish release at the Tebrau Straits, near Pendas Laut, Gelang Patah.
The programme is an annual activity by the department to ensure sufficient fish supply for generations to come.
“It will take about three to six months for the hatchlings to grow before they can be harvested and sold, so this will ensure that there is a healthy cycle of biodiversity in our environment,” he said, adding that the initiative was in collaboration with fish hatchery company Local Basic Sdn Bhd.
Local Basic manager Datuk Jason Teoh Sew Hock said the company has been releasing siakap and ikan merah fry into the Tebrau Straits since October last year.
“We started small in the first phase where we released about 2,000 siakap and ikan merah fingerlings before slowly going up to 10,000 hatchlings a month.
“Back then, we used to buy these eggs from other hatcheries before we began getting our own at Kampung Simpang Arang.
“We could produce 40,000 hatchlings every month,” he said and hoped to start a baby grouper hatchery next year.
Teoh urged more private sector and government-linked companies as well as non-governmental organisations to take part in the activity.
“We cannot do this on our own, so we would really appreciate it if private companies come forward to collaborate with us as part of their corporate social responsibility initiatives.
“Fish release like this would cost around RM100,000 if done every year,” he said and called on property developers in Gelang Patah to join in the initiative.
