SHAH ALAM: A post-mortem examination of the three giant arapaima that died after being caught in Masjid Tanah, Malacca, last Friday (Oct 13) will be done soon.
It was understood that the invasive fish, which weighed 80 to 200kg and were about 1.2 to 2.5 meters long each, were confirmed dead after being transferred to Zoo Negara. It was believed that it died due to old age.
Melaka Fisheries Department Director Saufi Affandi Talib said the National Zoo informed the death of the fish.
"The autopsy will be done this week to determine the exact cause of death
"After the process, the department will carry out the process of preserving the animals for education and awareness purposes," he told Sinar Harian on Sunday (Oct 13).
Also read: Giant arapaima fish injures Fisheries Dept officers during capture
Previously, it was reported that five officers from the Malaysian Fisheries Department were injured by a giant arapaima fish during a capture operation here on Friday (Oct 11).
The seven-hour operation involved team members from Melaka and Selangor
The fish had been kept in a water tank beneath an unused building and fed by locals, unaware that keeping arapaima was illegal.
The department director-general, Datuk Adnan Hussain, said that because of the aggressive nature of the fish, a few of the officers tasked with capturing the arapaima suffered injuries, and two of them were rushed to Alor Gajah Hospital.
