KUANTAN: Extremely murky river water and high stocking density of fish in cages were among several factors which led to thousands of dead ikan patin (silver catfish) spotted floating at farms along Sungai Pahang near Jerantut Ferry here since Sunday.
State Fisheries Department director Abdullah Jaafar said acting on a report, the department had gone to the farms located at Sungai Pahang in Kampung Lada, Jerantut on Tuesday to collect the water and live fish samples.
He said based on statements taken from the affected breeders; inspection at their farms, and lab reports from the Fisheries Biosecurity unit here, the department found several factors which had contributed to the incident.
"It rained for three consecutive days and the sudden change in weather resulted in the river water becoming extremely murky. The fishes died due to lack of oxygen.
"The high stocking density in the cages caused chronic stress and injuries to the fish. The fish were then easily exposed to parasite infection," he said in a statement.
Abdullah also said following the incident, the department had initiated short term measures including deploying their officers to provide regular consultation to the breeders on how to overcome the problems.
"The department will monitor the farms and ensure the breeders harvest the patin when it reaches market size (not keeping them too long in the cages).
"Farmers have been advised to reduce the stocking density to at least half of the current population.
"The department will organise MyGAP (Malaysian Good Agricultural Practice) awareness courses so that the breeders will adopt proper methods in managing their ventures," he said.
Yesterday, a group of breeders operating near the Jerantut Ferry suffered more than RM100,000 in losses after being forced to remove thousands of floating ikan patin carcasses from their farms.
Some claimed that this was the first time they had experienced such an unusual situation which led to major losses.