Malaysia: Cyanide fishing killing corals

Rahimy Rahim The Star 9 Jun 13;

KUALA LUMPUR: Some fishermen are still using cyanide in parts of Malaysia's coral “Golden Triangle”, which has been recognised as having richer marine biodiversity than the Great Barrier Reef.

The Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry said it was concerned that if these fishermen continued to resort to such dangerous methods, it could cause long-term damage to its fragile ecosystem.

“We are particularly concerned over some areas near Sabah, where the Golden Triangle is situated, as some of the fishermen are still doing cyanide fishing.

“It should be seen as a direct threat to the fragile ecosystem in the Golden Triangle, which hosts more than 5,000 species of fish as well as over 500 coral species,” said national oceanography directorate undersecretary Prof Datuk Dr Nor Aieni Mokhtar at the World Oceans Day and Coral Triangle Day celebration at Aquaria KLCC, here yesterday.

The Coral Triangle is the nursery of seas sometimes referred to as the Amazon of the Seas providing grounds and migratory routes for commercially-valuable open ocean species, and hosting about 76% of the world's coral species as well as 37% of its reef fish species.

It is a vast ocean expanse that geographically spreads across six countries in South-East Asia and the Pacific, including Malaysia, Indo-nesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste.

The Government, said Dr Nor Aieni, remained committed to becoming a “watchdog” of the coral reef ecosystem and was formulating a more systematic approach to monitor the situation.

“Most importantly, we prefer to protect our reefs in a natural manner by working with other governmental agencies such as Sirim to put artificial reefs in the surrounding area.

“On an average, the coral reefs grow about 1mm per year and it is vital to create the optimum spawning ground to ensure that the current ecosystem will not be disrupted,” she said.

For the first time, Malaysia, she said, would be organising the Golden Coral Triangle Initiative Conference from tomorrow to deliberate on the measures taken to conserve the area in a sustainable manner.

“We will identify the necessary areas and other initiatives that could be considered by the authorities, including gazetting parts of the areas,” she said.

Practices such as cyanide fishing can cause long-term damage to ecosystem
Koi Kye Lee New Straits Times 10 Jun 13;

PUTRAJAYA: EDUCATION and awareness campaigns help to inform Malaysians on the importance of conserving the nation’s marine biodiversity and ecosystem.

For instance, the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry highlighted the case of some fishermen practising cyanide fishing in parts of Malaysia's coral "golden triangle", which has been recognised as having richer marine bio diversity than the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

The ministry's national oceanography directorate un dersecretary Prof Datuk Dr Nor Aieni Mokhtar said the gov ernment was concerned over such practices.

If the fishermen continue to resort to such dangerous methods, it could cause long-term damage to the area's fragile ecosystem, he added.

"There are some areas near Sabah where cyanide fishing is still being practised and this is a direct threat to the ecosystem and marine biodiversity.

"Thus, it is important for us to come up with a mechanism that can create programmes on how to counter such prob lems," she said after attending the opening of the Conference on Achievements of the Coral Triangle Initiatives on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF) yesterday.

The meeting, which ends today, was opened by Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Rosli Mohamed and was held in conjunction with the World Oceans Day and Coral Triangle Day.

Dr Nor Aieni said the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) was a potential programme that could be used to educate the people living in the coastal areas of Sabah on the dangers of cyanide fishing.

"The initiative could also see measures that can be adopted or formulated to sustain the coral reefs in our country and to conduct research and studies that can be documented on sustaining the marine ecosystem," she said.

The Coral Triangle is the nursery of seas sometimes referred to as the Amazon of the Seas.

It provides grounds and migratory routes for commer cially-valuable open ocean species and hosts about 76 per cent of the world's coral species as well as 37 per cent of its reef fish species.

It is a vast ocean expanse that geographically spreads across six countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, including Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste.

Dr Nor Aieni said the proposed Tun Mustapha Park (TMP) was targeted to be gazetted by 2015.

Once established, it will be one of the largest marine protected areas in Southeast Asia and the largest in Malaysia as it will span more than one million hectares.

The intention to gazette TMP was approved by the Cabinet in 2003. The park area will cover the coastal areas of Kudat, Kota Marudu, and Pitas district with more than 50 islands within its boundary.