Exotic Aquatic Organisms - International Development Research ...
Exotic Aquatic Organisms - International Development Research ...
Exotic Aquatic Organisms - International Development Research ...
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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