MIRI, Oct 22: The Department of Marine Fisheries Sarawak is planning to set up a Tiger prawn (Udang Harimau) Refugia area in Kuala Baram which focuses on conserving this prawn species.
According to Department director Bohari Leng, landings of Tiger prawns in Miri, Sarawak between the period of 2015 and 2020 reached 78.79 metric tonnes with sales value worth RM5.6 million.
“Sarawak is fortunate because the Tiger prawn is one of the important marine resources that can be found in our waters, including in Sabah and Federal Territory of Labuan.
“Currently, there are two refugia areas established by the Malaysian Fisheries Department with one for Coral prawns (Udang Karang) in Johor waters and another for Tiger prawns in Kuala Baram, Miri,” he said in a news report by Sarawak Public Communications Unit (Ukas).
Bohari highlighted this when speaking at an engagement session to discuss the proposal to establish the Kuala Baram Tiger Prawn Refugia Area with stakeholders, held at a hotel on Thursday (Oct 21).
The session was attended by 24 government departments and agencies as part of the efforts to establish good cooperation in successfully implementing the refugia for Tiger prawns.
It also featured two speakers from the Bintawa Fisheries Research Institute (FRI) and Batu Maung Fisheries Research Institute (IPP) Penang. — DayakDaily
