JOHOR BARU: The state Fisheries Department will take up to a month to conduct an investigation into the alleged presence of the Amazon sailfin catfish, commonly called ‘ikan bandaraya’, in Sungai Skudai here.
Its director Zamani Omar said a special team had been set up to conduct the investigation after a newspaper reported on the matter recently.
“We did not receive any report on the matter before it came out in the media. We need to investigate the matter to find out the real situation, including the effects on the ecosystem.
“The investigation is expected to take between two to four weeks. We don’t want to be too hasty because the news report said the issue had been ongoing for about 10 years.
“We want to know the real situation so that we can find out the cause of the problem and take the necessary action so that it does not recur,” said Zamani.
He added that the department had not received any report on the presence of the fish in other rivers.
Taman Tampoi Utama fishing jetty head Osman Kassim said rapid development in the surrounding areas recently had seen a rise in the alien species’ population.
“Now, every time after it rains, the fish would be frequently caught in the fishermen’s nets, causing a lot of time spent freeing and throwing them away.
“Previously, the fish could only be found in the upstream area of Sungai Skudai near the water gate, but now it can also be found downstream near Taman Tampoi Utama,” said Osman.
He also said fishermen could once net species like patin, talapia, baung and terubok, but now they could only find patin and keli in the river.
“We are not sure why the number of fishes have dwindled,” said Osman.
Fisherman Badrul Hisham Mohamed, 51, said the biggest ‘ikan bandaraya’ he had caught weighed about 500gm.
“Some of the fishermen could catch as much as 15kg of ‘ikan bandaraya’, and not other types of fish, especially after it rains.
“I hope the authorities will take the necessary action because this has affected our income,” said Badrul Hisham, who had been fishing in the river for about 40 years.