Malaysia: Study to harvest horseshoe crabs for medicinal purposes

Horseshoe crabs a lifesaver
Avila Geraldine and Laili Ismail New Straits Times 4 Nov 13;

BIOLOGICAL RESOURCE: Sabah govt and varsity carrying out research on local species for use in medical field

KOTA KINABALU: HORSESHOE crabs may not be a popular dish here, but its blood is highly sought after for its medicinal value.

This unique resource promises to put the country on the pharmaceutical map.
Horseshoe crabs are used by the pharmaceutical and medical industries to prevent products from being contaminated by endotoxins.

These products include intravenous drugs, vaccines, and implantable medical as well as dental devices for humans and animals.

At present, Limulus polyphemur, an American horseshoe crab species, is widely used to produce the endotoxin detection kit.

Three of the four crab species in the world, namely Tachypleus gigas, Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda and Tachypleus tridentatus, can be found in the coastlines of Malaysia.
The Tachypleus tridentatus, especially, is abundant in Sabah waters.

Experts said this particular species was mentioned in British Pharmacopeia (the official collection of standards for UK medicinal products and pharmaceutical substances), as a source of Ameobocyte Lysate, a highly sensitive compound that is used to detect endotoxin contamination.

Recently, the state government, through the Sabah Biodiversity Centre (SaBC) and Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), signed a research agreement to study the population of Tachypleus tridentatus and the species' foraging areas in Pitas, Kuala Penyu, Tawau and Lahad Datu.
SaBC allocated RM60,000 for the university to conduct an 18-month research in areas where the local horseshoe crab population is reportedly centred.

Its director, Dr Abdul Fatah Amir, said the study would be a breakthrough for Malaysia, as no local horseshoe crab had been used for medical purposes.

"Information on the Malaysian horseshoe crab population, size and behaviour is lacking, and, therefore, should be gathered, documented and analysed for sustainable management of these unique resources.

"A better understanding of the range, population size and dynamics, as well as a combination of shoreline survey and tagging programme should be carried out."

Fatah said the information gathered at the conclusion of the project would benefit many and allow locals to generate income.

"Normally, these crabs are caught for consumption but it is not a popular delicacy. Sometimes, the crab shells are used as decorations.

"Once researchers have established its potential for medicine, the community will be involved in the harvesting of horseshoe crabs."

He said fishermen could also be involved in supplying horseshoe crabs to the pharmaceutical and medical industries.

Fatah said blood could be drawn from the crab without killing it, before it is returned to its natural habitat unharmed.

He has called on the state government to consider making horseshoe crabs a protected biological resource.

"This will provide the government with accurate data to be used in the planning and development of the endotoxin detection kit industry."

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Malaysia: Fish net size stays

Koi Kye Lee and Balqis Lim New Straits Times 4 Nov 13;

REGULATION: Fishermen given notice of ruling 3 months earlier

PUTRAJAYA: THE ruling requiring fishermen to use fishing nets with mesh size bigger than 38mm stays.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the regulation, which was enforced on Friday, was to protect marine resources, not spoil the livelihood of trawler fishermen.

He was commenting on groups of fishermen in Selangor, Perak and Penang who were refusing to go out to sea in protest of the regulation's enforcement.

Ismail said the fishermen, who collectively own some 400 boats, could carry on with their protest as the Fisheries Department and Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM) had given them a heads up on the ruling three months earlier.

"They know that the regulation has always been part of the Fisheries Act 1985. They know why it must be enforced. We will not withdraw this stance."

Ismail said fishermen who had been using nets with meshes smaller than 38mm were hauling in a lot of fry which could affect the country's fish supply in the future .

"These fry cannot be sold at markets and end up being used as fertiliser. Malaysia is only following the footsteps of other countries, including Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam, which had already enforced a similar ruling."

He added that only 10 per cent of fishermen were using nets with mesh smaller than 38mm.
LKIM chairman Datuk Irmohizam Ibrahim said the ongoing protests by fishermen in the three states had not caused a dip in the country's fish supply.

"The new ruling was to ensure sustainability of marine life, and these fishermen should be more responsible and aware that their action would cost the country and the people dearly in the long run."

Irmohizam said the fishermen had ample time to prepare themselves for the enforcement of the ruling. He said LKIM would not hesitate to engage new fishermen and import more fish should the need arise.

"There is no reason to worry about supply as we have more than 90,000 fishermen."

The regulation has existed since 1967, but it has not been implemented due to opposition from fishermen. Additional reporting by Phuah Ken Lin

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Night Walk At Venus Drive (01 Nov 2013)
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NEA volunteers should patrol with volunteer constabulary, say observers

Hu Jielan Channel NewsAsia 2 Nov 13;

SINGAPORE: The government recently said it plans to look into how to catch litterbugs more effectively with the help of volunteers from the community. One possible idea is having them patrol with the Volunteer Special Constabulary (VSC).

At the moment, volunteers with the National Environment Agency (NEA) have the power to book litterbugs and report them to authorities.

Some members of the public told Channel NewsAsia that it was good to have them around to help keep the environment clean.

One of the ideas to strengthen the volunteers' role is to issue them the same warrant cards as regular NEA officers, which would give them the power to issue summonses to litterbugs.

However, there are many challenges as a volunteer. Randy Wong, a volunteer with the NEA, said: "I think the most challenging part is handling everyone's different mentalities. For example, there may be cat lovers who do not clean up the area. But if you understand their point of view, it'll be much easier to persuade them."

- CNA/ac

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'Biocement' could help build underground structures in Singapore

Eileen Poh Channel NewsAsia 2 Nov 13;

SINGAPORE: Building structures underground in Singapore may be made easier if a study to strengthen weak rocks below ground is successful.

It is one of four projects under the Ministry of National Development's S$8 million Sustainable Urban Living R&D Programme which seeks solutions in expanding Singapore's land space.

The projects touch on areas such as underground space utilisation, land reclamation technology and space optimisation.

Underground construction poses several challenges -- cracks in rocks is one of them. Such cracks can cause instability and water seepage problems.

However, this may soon be resolved with a new material called 'biocement', which is simply bacteria with chemicals in water.

The solution will act as a glue to seal cracks in rocks or bond sand particles.

Water containing bacteria, urea and calcium ions are injected into cracks in the rocks. The bacteria breaks down urea and forms calcite and after about two weeks, the calcite deposits harden and fill the cracks.

This method, if successful, can replace the current use of cement to fill the cracks at half the cost.

Associate Professor Tan Soon Keat from the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), said: "It is almost like a liquid, like water itself. So where water can flow, (the biocement) can also flow there. So even if it is a hairline crack, it will follow through."

Assoc Prof Tan and his team at NTU have shown that biocement works under lab conditions.

Assoc Prof Tan added: "We have done the laboratory-scale test and it has worked out. But it has actually not been done in the real-scale. The proof is to do it in... the actual application, that is when we have a test site."

That is what the professor and his team will be focusing on next in a project funded by the Ministry of National Development. The testing stage of the project will take a few years.

- CNA/ac

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Malaysia hit hard by dengue virus

Tashny Sukumaran The Star 3 Nov 13;

PETALING JAYA: The country saw the highest number of dengue cases in a single week this year with 1,680 cases recorded from Oct 20 to 26, with Selangor bearing the brunt of the assault by the Aedes mosquito.

Selangor had the largest increase with 1,142 cases, up by 272 cases from the previous week.

From Jan 1 to Oct 26, a total of 28,707 cases has been recorded, which represents a 58% increase compared to the corresponding period last year, said the Health Ministry in a statement on Friday.

The Health Ministry is concerned as the weekly cases this year, at more than 900, is more than twice of last year’s weekly average of 400.

The analysis for Selangor (up to June) noted that it hosted 323 of the 408 dengue hotspots nationwide, with 26 high risk areas found in the Petaling district, 19 in Hulu Langat, eight in Gombak and one in Sepang.

The rest of the outbreak areas were located primarily in Johor (37) and Kuala Lumpur-Putrajaya (16), with the rest spread out over the other remaining states.

Johor saw 167 cases of dengue last week, while Perak had 64.

Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya remained steady over the last two weeks with 60 cases.

The good news is that Malacca (71, compared to 92) and Kelantan (33 compared to 38) are some states that had fewer cases last week than the previous one.

The cumulative mortality from dengue so far is 60, up from 29 for the same period last year.

In the statement, Health Ministry deputy director for public health Datuk Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman urged Malaysians to cooperate with relevant agencies to destroy mosquito breeding areas.

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Less bullfrogs but they have started to lay eggs
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Hot Spot for Butterfly Sighting and Photography Part 2
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Haze monitoring system will not prevent fires, say experts

Neo Chai Chin Today Online 2 Nov 13;

SINGAPORE — It provides a platform to identify companies that are using fire to clear land, but the haze monitoring system is not “preventive” against future fires, nor is it enough to tackle wider social and economic challenges standing in the way of sustainable development.

This was the take of environmentalists and academics yesterday at a roundtable organised by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) which brought together 30 representatives from universities and non-government organisations (NGOs) from Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The system, developed by Singapore, was adopted for use by the three haze-hit countries as well as Brunei and Thailand last month at the ASEAN Summit. It will feature satellite images of hot spots overlaid with concession and land use maps.

Monitoring deforestation is more important than monitoring the haze, argued Greenpeace’s Forest Campaign head Bustar Maitar. It is crucial to track deforested areas and zones where development should not take place, he said. “I think the discussion here should not be only ... about solving the haze but how to solve deforestation in the region — how to stop people or corporations or banks from preparing ‘fuel’ for every year’s forest fires.”

SIIA Chairman Simon Tay acknowledged that, while it is not enough “on its own”, the haze monitoring system helps to identify other steps forward, such as inter-governmental cooperation and the need for better spatial planning. It could also spur companies to act responsibly, he said.

Mr Bustar and Mr Abetnego Tarigan, Friends of the Earth Indonesia’s (WALHI) National Executive Director, told TODAY the Indonesian public, in general, is not aware of the haze monitoring system. Mr Tarigan said he himself was unsure what data the system would contain and how it would work.

Then there are the practical constraints. Official maps from Indonesian government agencies may not be able to clearly define parties responsible for fires, said the World Resources Institute’s (WRI) forest and landscape restoration Outreach Officer, Mr Andika Putraditama.

Indonesia’s One Map initiative to integrate various land use maps still has some way to go. Maps provided to the WRI by companies are “much better”, but they need to be verified through checks on the ground, he said.

The need for more science, data and better policies was also discussed at yesterday’s roundtable. Data on the health and socio-economic cost of the haze are lacking, as is the science behind some policies, according to some participants.

The scientific basis behind the threshold figure of 3 metres for the ban on development of peatland to kick in is unclear, for instance, said Universiti Malaya Senior Lecturer Helena Varkkey. “The real problem now is policy that comes before science.”

Indonesian climate and sustainability specialist Fitrian Ardiansyah noted the paltry funds dedicated to conservation — he has found that less than 1 per cent of budgets at the local district level in Indonesia are allocated to environmental protection. He also said he would like to see more collaborations among NGOs and their representatives could try to spark “change from within” by perhaps running in elections.

A Chairman’s Statement on Haze and Sustainability from the roundtable will be disseminated by NGO Roundtable participants to relevant ministries in their own countries. Prof Tay said the SIIA will be looking to hold another multi-sector dialogue on sustainable resources from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

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Interim measures being taken to tackle flooding: Tan Chuan-Jin

Channel NewsAsia 1 Nov 13;

SINGAPORE: Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin says interim measures are being taken to tackle flash floods even as the "formal solution" eases into effect.

Posting on his Facebook page on Friday, he said he has met up with the various agencies involved in flood control, adding that he has been briefed on what has been done and the further steps that will be taken.

His comments followed flash floods on 30 October in Bedok and Chai Chee, both in Marine Parade GRC where Mr Tan is an MP.

The sides that he has met include national water agency PUB, the National Environment Agency, the Land Transport Authority and the town council of his ward.

He said they would like to speed things up where possible, but he noted that some of the solutions are "quite major efforts".

Mr Tan added that he has asked the agencies to package the information and disseminate it once it is ready so that the public may know what has already been done.

Mr Tan also said that he has visited the flood sites and will make a few more site visits this weekend.

Citing an example of interim measures, he said a second pump was put in place on Thursday to help deal with the floods in Chai Chee.

In addition, the "road will be raised about 150mm so that cars should be able to clear the waters. We should get this done by end of year. Drains will be widened and deepened. Probably by first quarter of 2014 - at Chai Chee Street," added Mr Tan.

- CNA/ir

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Malaysia: Johor state prepared for flood season

New Straits Times 31 Oct 13;

COME HIGH WATER: Johor Civil Defence Department has the manpower and gear to weather expected storms

JOHOR BARU: THE Johor Civil Defence Department (JPAM) is geared up to meet possible year-end floods with a staff strength of 1,000, including volunteers.

JPAM deputy director Mohd Zulkhairi Bin Shamsudin said JPAM personnel had undergone training to rescue flood victims and render first aid to the injured on the ground.

"Our personnel have been taught to give priority to pregnant women, the elderly and children in a rescue operation.

"The department has always worked closely with the Johor State Welfare Department (JKM), state drainage and irrigation department as well as non-governmental organisations and related government agencies during emergency operations," he said.

"We do not have to worry much about manpower as the staff of the respective district offices and local residents are ever ready to assist us in any way during an emergency."

JPAM has 27 boats comprising aluminium and rigid boats.

"Each aluminium boat can ferry six or seven passengers while the rigid boat can accommodate more.

"We have nine lorries and nine four-wheel vehicle to ferry victims to the evacuation centres," he said.

Zulkhairi said the flood-prone areas were Batu Pahat, Muar and Kota Tinggi while the rivers are Sungai Skudai and Sungai Tebrau, both in Johor Baru, Sungai Muar (Muar) Sungai Sedili (Kota Tinggi), Sungai Benut (Pontian) and Sungai Endau (Endau), among others.

JKM has established 649 evacuation centres in 10 districts in preparation of the expected floods.

Meanwhile, it was reported the Johor Fire and Rescue Services Department was also fully prepared for the flood season, which is any time from now until March next year.

Its director Datuk Ab Ghani Daud had said that although the state had low rainfall, there was a risk of floods because of prevalent weather changes.

Ghani said rainfall was expected to be evenly scattered throughout the state during the rainy season but a prolonged downpour could result in floods.

From Dec 18, 2006, to Jan 13, 2007, a series of floods wreaked havoc in parts of Johor.
In the tail-end of 2006, the state was hit by one of the worst floods in history, with the water level reaching 29cm on Dec 19.

Kota Tinggi and Segamat were the worst-hit with both towns becoming completely inaccessible by land.

Flood waters inundated and damaged homes and property. Many victims were evacuated.

A second wave of floods hit unexpectedly on the third week of January 2007. Eight districts were flooded. This time around, the worst-hit towns were Kluang and Batu Pahat.

The two calamities caused the government some RM1.5 billion and are considered the costliest floods in Malaysian history.

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Japan's hunts threaten some dolphins and whales with extinction, says EIA

Japan relying on out-of-date data for hunts of small cetaceans, putting some species of whales, dolphins and porpoises at risk, warns Environmental Investigation Agency
Associated Press theguardian.com 31 Nov 13;

Japan's hunts of smaller whales, dolphins and porpoises threaten some species with extinction, an environmental group said on Thursday.

Catch quotas are based on data collected as much as 20 years ago and some species have been overhunted beyond the point of recovery, the Environmental Investigation Agency said in its report.

The lucrative market in live catches for aquariums, especially in China, poses another risk, the report said. Live animals can sell for between $8,400 and $98,000, sometimes more than the roughly $50,000 from sales of meat for a single bottlenose dolphin.

Japan set its catch limit for small cetaceans at 16,655 in 2013, far below the 30,000 caught annually before limits were set in 1993 but still the largest hunt in the world.

Japan's Fisheries Agency would not comment on the EIA report because it has not seen it. Japan defends its coastal whaling as a longstanding tradition, source of livelihood and as necessary for scientific research.

The London-based independent conservation group said Japan is failing to observe its stated goal of sustainability and urged the country to phase out the hunts over the next decade.

"The government has a responsibility to restore and maintain cetacean species at their former levels," said Jennifer Lonsdale, a founding director of the EIA.

The small cetaceans are among a number of species facing severe declines in Japan. They include Japanese eels, a delicacy usually served roasted with a savoury sauce over rice, and torafugu, or puffer fish.

The status of each species varies, depending on its range and hunting practices. Catch limits for Dall's porpoises are 4.7-4.8 times higher than the safe threshold, the report said.

For the striped dolphin, once the mainstay of the industry but now endangered and disappearing from some areas, catches have dropped from over 1,800 in the 1980s to about 100.

That is still four times the sustainable limit, the report said. It urged that the government update its data on the abundance of it and other species and stop transferring quotas from already overfished areas to areas that exceed their quotas.

Under a 1946 treaty regulating whaling, nations can grant permits to kill whales for scientific research.

In July, Japan defended its annual harpooning of hundreds of whales in the icy seas around Antarctica, insisting the hunt is legal because it gathers valuable scientific data that could pave the way to a resumption of sustainable whaling in the future.

Australia has appealed to the international court of justice to have the whaling outlawed.

Japan's coastal hunts for small cetaceans not sustainable, says report
Pursuit of whale, dolphin and porpoise species should be phased out, says Environmental Investigation Agency
Justin McCurry in Osaka theguardian.com 31 Oct 13;

Some species of whale, dolphin and porpoise could be hunted into extinction unless Japan stops pursuing them in its coastal waters, a new report has warned.

Japan catches almost 17,000 smaller cetaceans off its coast every year – a tradition that its whalers say stretches back centuries.

The coastal hunts, which include the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, are no longer sustainable and should be phased out over the next 10 years, the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency said in a report launched in Tokyo on Thursday.

"The hunts in Japan's coastal waters specifically target nine small cetacean species, eight of them with government-set catch limits which are clearly unsustainable," said EIA campaigner and report co-author Sarah Baulch.

"For 2013, the catch limits allow the slaughter of 16,655 small cetaceans, but our analysis of available scientific data raises very serious concerns about the sustainability of these hunts."

The EIA estimates that more than 1 million whales, dolphins and porpoises have been killed in Japanese waters in the past 70 years.

The coastal hunt is the biggest of its kind in the world, yet "there is little transparency regarding the methods used to set catch limits and widespread concern that consumers are not informed that the resulting products are toxic with mercury and other contaminants," the conservation group said.

In most cases, Japan's catch limits are based on data collected more than 20 years ago and some species have already been hunted beyond the point where their numbers can recover, the report said.

The current quota is well below the 30,000 killed in Japan every year until limits were introduced in 1993. The coastal hunt is separate from Japan's annual slaughter of bigger whale species in the Antarctic.

The report blames growing demand for dolphins and other small cetaceans from aquariums and sea parks around the world, particularly in China: live dolphins, for example, can fetch between $8,400 and $98,000.

Catch limits for the Dall's porpoise species are 4.7-4.8 times higher than the safe threshold, the report said; catches of the striped dolphin, meanwhile, have dropped from over 1,800 in the 1980s to about 100.

"Despite strong indications of population declines, there appears to be little formal monitoring by the government of Japan," Baulch said.

The EIA also cited the risk to Japanese consumers of eating meat and blubber with methyl mercury levels many times higher than the safe limit.

"Japan's stubborn reluctance to relinquish this archaic industry is not only driving threatened marine species towards extinction, but is endangering the health of its people," said Sakae Hemmi of the Japan-based group Elsa Nature Conservancy.

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