KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysia Book of Records presented three national records to Bayu Aquaculture Sdn Bhd for being the first in the country to successfully produce three species of fish fry for aquaculture.
These three species are orange-spotted spinefoot (Siganus guttatus); white-spotted spinefoot (Siganus canaliculatus); and vermiculated spinefoot (Siganus vermiculatus), said Malaysia Book of Records chief operating officer Christopher Wong during a presentation ceremony held at a restaurant here.
The recognition plaques were received by Echo Resort owner representative Gillian Tan.
"We are recognising them for successfully producing three species of fish fry at their hatchery farm in Tuaran. What they are doing is eco-friendly and very sustainable which doesn't affect the landscape and environment," said Christopher.
Tan said everything the company does "starts from our love for the sea".
"We did a lot of propagation of giant clams. We believe whatever that we build and do, should contribute back to the sea. So that comes to play when we do research for all aquaculture and products," said Tan.
Bayu Aquaculture project director Alvin Wong said spinefoot or rabbitfish is a scavenger in the wild.
"However, the fish we produced were fed with clean and quality feed. We are a participant in the Aquaculture Residue Monitoring Programme introduced by the Fisheries Department.
"For the last 10 years, no trace of chemical was ever detected in samples taken from our farm," he said.
The three records received today are an additional to their existing four national records. The recognitions reflect their commitment in three core areas-conservation, diversity and sustainability.
Alvin said the first national record was received in 2010 by their Marine Ecology Research Centre (MERC), Gaya Island for being the first in the country to successfully produce all the seven species of giant clams found in Malaysian waters.
Last November, Rantau Bakat Sdn Bhd received a national record for being the first in Malaysia to plant more than 160 varieties of hibiscus, many of which was a result from cross pollination effort, he said.
In 2019, he said the Malaysia Book of Records acknowledged that Bayu Aquaculture was the first to produce a backcross grouper which is a fast growing species with high resistance to disease.
The following year, they received another record for being the first in Malaysia to produce fish fry for streaked spinefoot.