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Exotic Aquatic Organisms - International Development Research ...

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72<br />

what they perceived as economically useful species. Species introductions have never been a<br />

major government thrust because of the availability and abundance of indigenous species.<br />

The main concerns about the fish introductions are the risks associated with any one or all of<br />

the following problems as listed by Welcomme (1986):<br />

- contamination of existing natural communities with foreign species,<br />

- the introduction of disease,<br />

- the direct disruption of the fish community through competition or predation,<br />

the genetic degradation of the host stock,<br />

the degradation of the environment by the introduced species, and<br />

- the disruption of human lifestyles, customs or economic systems.<br />

It is difficult to find a country in Asia whose natural fish communities are not contaminated<br />

by introduced species. The risks of disease transfer, genetic and environmental degradation as<br />

well as disruption to the natural fish communities can, however, be reduced if not prevented if<br />

appropriate precautionary measures are observed. The objectives of this paper are to trace the<br />

fate of introduced fish in Malaysia and to assess their possible ecological or biological impact.<br />

Fate of Introduced Species<br />

Available records show that fish introductions in Malaysia were initiated in the early 19th<br />

century along with the immigration of the southern Chinese who brought along the techniques of<br />

fish farming. Fingerlings of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon ide/la), bighead carp (Aristichthys<br />

nobilis), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio)<br />

(Welcomme 1981; Mohsin and Ambak 1983) were raised in mud ponds and unused mining<br />

poois. The snakeskin gouramy (Trichogaster pectoralis) was introduced either in the late<br />

nineteenth or early twentieth century and established itself in paddy fields, irrigation canals and<br />

freshwater swamps, forming an important fishery.<br />

After World War II, a few more species were introduced by the Department of Fisheries,<br />

private organizations and individuals. Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) was introduced in<br />

1944 from Java. This species rapidly established itself in freshwater as well as in brackish water.<br />

In 1979, 0. niloticus was introduced from Thailand and in 1980, red tilapia hybrids were brought<br />

in from Taiwan. These two species/varieties are of better quality for aquaculture purposes and<br />

they are now popularly cultured in freshwater ponds and mining pools. In the 1L950's catfish<br />

(Clarias macrocephalus) was introduced and soon became a strong competitor with indigenous<br />

species (Clarias batrachus). The Javanese carp, Puntius gonionotus, was successfully introduced<br />

into Malaysia in 1958 (Table 1).<br />

The Department of Fisheries also introduced the Indian major carps in the 1960's,<br />

particularly catla (Catla catla), mrigal (Cirrhina mrigala) and rohu (Labeo rohita). Like most<br />

Chinese carps, these species do not breed in captivity under local conditions. Their culture is<br />

dependent on imported fingerling supply. Etroplus suratensis was introduced in 1975 from Sri

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