KUANTAN: Sungai Pahang faces a growing threat from the invasive Asian red tail catfish, which is overwhelming the 459km-long river.
“Without urgent action, Sungai Pahang risks being overrun by the Asian red tail catfish within five years,” warned Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA) senior lecturer Dr Wan Norfazilah Wan Ismail.
The Asian red tail catfish (Hemibagrus wyckioides), native to Vietnam’s Mekong River, has rapidly multiplied in Sungai Pahang, the longest river in Peninsular Malaysia, and now dominates waters once teeming with prized native species, such as patin, tenggalan and kerai.
Dr Wan Norfazilah, a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Industrial Science and Technology, said the red tail catfish is highly adaptable, thriving in murky, shallow or deep waters.
It can grow up to 130cm and weigh as much as 50kg.
“Many native fish die due to pollution, but this species continues to survive,” she said.
She added that the catfish had previously been detected in Sungai Perak and Sungai Selangor, but its presence in Sungai Pahang had surged this year, judging by the rising number of catches reported.
She also said that although the Asian red tail catfish had been spotted in most districts along Sungai Pahang, there had been no sightings in Sungai Rompin in the south, which is not connected to Sungai Pahang.
Dr Wan Norfazilah said large-scale interventions were needed, including collaborations with non-governmental organisations and higher-learning institutions, to study and control the catfish population.
She praised the state government’s Moh! Tangkap Baung Ekor Merah fishing competition to encourage the catching of more red tail catfish, but warned: “Stronger measures are urgently needed to contain the population before the river is overrun.”
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
