Evangeline Majawat New Straits Times 6 Sep 10;
KUALA LUMPUR: Crabs the size of iPhones? Groupers only 30cm long? Saucer-sized stingrays?
Smaller seafood may be cheaper, but experts warned that eating juveniles is only making it worse for distressed fisheries.
Worldwide Fund for Nature Peninsular Malaysia Seas programme officer Chitra Devi G. said declining catch since the 1970s had forced fishermen to use smaller mesh sizes.
The widespread use of trawlers too meant fishermen are "sweeping" everything in the sea.
"When more and more juveniles are caught, it means that we are taking them out faster than they can breed, which will eventually mean collapse (of fisheries)," she said.
"This is evidenced by the decline of our demersal stock density, where over the years less fish are available in an area."
Demersal fish live and feed near or at the seabed. They include coral trouts, groupers, crabs, prawns and stingrays.
Unfortunately, most consumers are unaware of the problem.
Fisheries Department research officer Dr Alias Man said consumers preferred the juveniles as they were "family size", just enough for a small household.
"Consumers tend to go for the smaller ones as they're cheaper and there is less wastage. But my worry is that soon our fisheries will collapse."
Official data shows that annual marine fish landings have shot up from 951,307 tonnes in 1990 to 1.28 million tonnes in 2000 and 1.39 million tonnes eight years later.
Explaining the Fisheries Department statistics, Alias said the increase in the number of vessels, use of the latest technology and smaller mesh size of trawl nets had pushed the figures up.
But he said the value of commercial fish from these landings had dropped significantly. The yield of trash fish, which has low or no value and usually not consumed by humans, has tripled since the 1980s.
In 2008, 320,000 of the 1.39 million tonnes of fish caught were trash fish.
The widespread use of trawl nets has also given scientists a big headache. As of 2008, 51 per cent of fishermen in Malaysia are using it.
Locals use bottom trawlers which are very destructive as dragging the seabed will kill corals and scoop fish fry and juveniles.
"The Fisheries Act states very clearly that only 38mm mesh size at the cod end of a trawl net is allowed.
"But enforcement has been hard as fishermen believe the new size will reduce their catch," Alias said.
