Several conversations have been held with fishers in Sukau, Batu Puteh and Abai since mid-2012 to better understand the fishery and the issues that are faced by fishers. A trip on the river with a local fisherman to check his gill nets was conducted on the morning of March 23rd, 2013. We journeyed to Tenegang Besar, upstream from Sukau village. This river was formerly one of the 2 important tributaries for fishers, but is now flanked by large oil palm estates. Four nets were checked and the catch was dominated by the Amazon Sailfin catfish (Pterygoplichthys pardalis), an invasive aquarium armoured catfish species from South America. With no market value (or food value either), the fishes were tossed back into the river. Of the 10 species caught, 4 of them were not native and introduced.
The method of fishing with gill nets strung across the expanse of the tributary is a common method for fishing here, though potentially having a negative effect on the river ecosystem (preventing lateral movement of fish or other aquatic animals up and town the tributary). Consequently, one of the fisher’s nets had a very large hole ripped through it, courtesy of a passing crocodile. Further conversations with other fishers in the Lower Kinabatangan suggest that this method of net setting is not just a response to decline in catch but has long been practiced.
The method of fishing with gill nets strung across the expanse of the tributary is a common method for fishing here, though potentially having a negative effect on the river ecosystem (preventing lateral movement of fish or other aquatic animals up and town the tributary). Consequently, one of the fisher’s nets had a very large hole ripped through it, courtesy of a passing crocodile. Further conversations with other fishers in the Lower Kinabatangan suggest that this method of net setting is not just a response to decline in catch but has long been practiced.
Fisher removing an invasive Amazon Sailfin catfish (Pterygoplichthys pardalis) from his gill net
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