Page 265 - The Guide To Sarawak

THE GUIDE TO SARAWAK 263
Fisheries & Aquaculture
Sarawak is criss-crossed with rivers and streams and has a 1,000 kilometre sea coast, thus fishing and aquaculture are important economic activities.
Freshwater Fish
Sarawak’s rivers abound with various species. The marbled goby (Oxyeleotris marmorata), commonly known as Betutu or Soon Hock, is found in most major rivers in Borneo. Another popular river
fish is the catfish species locally known as Labang (Pangasius nieuwenhuisi) which is commonly found in the mid and upper zones of the Rejang, Baram and Kemena rivers.
Two river fish highly
prized by gourmets
are the Empurau (Tor tambroides) and Semah (Tor douronensis), both members of the carp family. They are found throughout Sarawak’s major rivers especially in
the Rejang, Baram, Limbang
and Batang Ai rivers. The natural stock has declined tremendously due to over exploitation and pollution, resulting in high market prices (more than RM600 per kg in the case of the empurau). Therefore the state government has set
up an Empurau Research and Development Centre
in Tarat, near Kuching, to produce empurau and semah fry for restocking and also for research on captive culture.
Sarawak has two large hydro lakes; Batang Ai, (840 hectares) has the potential to produce 7,000mt of
cage cultured fish annually, while the vast 69,500 hectare Bakun is capable
of producing 56,000mt
per annum when fully developed. Red Tilapia and the catfish known locally as Patin (Pangasius sp) are the popular species currently reared in cages at Batang Ai. The Department of Agriculture has introduced the Tagang system to
culture indigenous fish. This open culture system is a smart partnership with the local community to protect, rehabilitate and manage the natural fisheries resources
in the river systems. The main species cultured are Empurau and Semah. 52 Tagang systems have been established throughout Sarawak since 2005. The management of each river system, which is divided into 3 zones (red, yellow and green), is carried out by the local community. The fish are allowed to breed, grow and mature for 2 years and are only harvested thereafter annually on one fixed date within the green zone. Any illegal fishing is punished according to the respective community’s customary
law (adat). This allows
the fish to grow, mature
and breed naturally in the protected zone, enabling
a continued supply of fish for the local community. The Department is also assisting in developing basic infrastructure - pathways to river banks, changing rooms and briefing areas - for established Tagang systems which have the potential
to be developed as agro- tourism destinations.
Red tilapia cleaned and degutted prior to being frozen.
One of the many impressive empurau specimens (Tor tambroides) bred at the Empurau Research and development Centre, Tarat.