TUMPAT: Some 90 cage fish farmers in Laguna Sri Tujoh here have suffered a total loss of more than RM1mil when all their fish stock died due to the overflow of contaminated water in the recent first wave of floods.
Laguna Sri Tujoh Fish Farmers’ Association chairman Mohd Saifullah Che Mat said the farmers noticed three days ago that the caged fish were gradually dying.
“Initially, only the groupers died but we did not expect the seabass to die as well because they are usually more sturdy and can survive even when floodwaters enter their cages.
“However, on Friday evening, the seabass raised in 2,000 cages in this area also began dying. Yesterday, fish across the entire farm died,” he said, Bernama reported.
According to him, most of the dead seabass weighing about 2-3kg each can be still harvested while the smaller fish could be raised for the fasting month sale.
Mohd Saifullah said there had never been a total loss of fish despite their cages having been in previous floods.
“However, this year we found that the flood was quite unusual and the water was full of waste, causing the fish to die,” he said.
A farmer, Mohd Nazari Abdullah, 50, said his first attempt at cage fish farming saw all the seabass in his 16 cages die on Sunday morning.
He said all the fish were raised early this year at a total cost of more than RM30,000, including the purchase of fingerlings and fish food.
“I plan to sell the farmed products starting next month and throughout the fasting month, but it seems that luck is not on my side,” he said.
Another farmer, Mazlan Mamat, 54, said he had never suffered a total loss like this year since he started his business 10 years ago.
He said all the fish in his 40 cages died last Friday and he needed a capital of more than RM40,000 to restart the farm next year.
In the first wave of floods, the Tumpat district was the worst affected, with eight houses in Kampung Jubakar Pantai located near Laguna Sri Tujoh collapsing, while the main road in the area also sank, making it impassable.
