Sunday October 10, 2010
Prized patin and lulong perish
SIBU: Thousands of fishes, including the prized patin and lulong, floated lifelessly to the surface of the Rajang River in the wake of the logjam disaster, drawing strong emotions from the people. While some saw it as a windfall, others were driven to tears by the grim scene. Rachel Siew, 26, was sobbing away as she watched more than 50 people at the Express Passenger Boat Terminal here collecting dead or dying fishes on Friday night.
Harvesting from disaster: Ting showing part of the bounty of fish he ‘caught’ from the Rajang River Saturday.
“People were laughing and enjoying the catch but I could not hold back my feelings. Why are humans so selfish and irresponsible? Why do we cause so much environmental destruction that even the fish could not live now?” she asked. There are fears that the population of patin and lulong in parts of the Rajang River could have been wiped out as a similar incident had occured before although on a smaller scale. Ting Chaio Ping who was collecting the dead fishes near the Lanang Bridge said he harvested more than 120kg in four hours.
“The fishes were patin and lulong and some of them weighed more than 10kg,” Ting said. In the market, patin could fetch RM35 per kilo, while lulong could fetch higher at RM45 per kilo, he added. Ting said hundreds of people from Kapit to Sibu were collecting the dead or dying fish over the last three days. “It was terrifying and very sad that all the patin and lulong fishes had died due to an environmental disaster,” Ting lamented. The population of both fishes, which are prized by the people, is dwindling.
The logjam, which was believed to have stretched over 50km on the Rajang River, was caused by logs and debris that were swept into Baleh River and its tributaries above Kapit after several days of heavy rain. Natural Resources and Environment Board controller Peter Sawal said the deterioration of the river ecology was due to the muddy water resulting from soil erosion. “The fishes are suffocating. Their gills are being clogged up with m&d,” he said.
