TUMPAT: Close to 100 grouper and barramundi farmers with net pens in Laguna Tujoh, Kelantan are facing financial loss because the hot weather for two weeks now has caused fish to die.
“We are camping out to keep an eye on the fish after they started dying, and more so because nearly 80% are still small and sensitive to change,“ Zailani Ariffin, 33, told Bernama today.
He said the heat and falling water level in the lagoon are affecting the oxygen supply in the water and causing scale loss in fish and death.
He said many farmers have started using huge engines (enjin galah) and blowers to bring the situation under control.
“We are doing all kinds of things to save the fish because it has cost us a lot to buy the fry — at almost RM1.50 a fish — and fish food,“ he said.
Laguna Sri Tujoh Fish Farmers’ Association chairman, Saifullah Che Mat, said about 50 metric tonnes of fish die in the lagoon every year, with losses estimated to be RM750,000.
He said the heat is influencing the water level and increasing salinity which is impacting the fish because they are not getting adequate oxygen.
“The lagoon is getting shallower ever year and making things worse, not to mention the yearly loss,“ he said.
According to him a few farmers have decided to cut their losses and sell their nets pens because they can’t deal with it anymore.
Saifullah, a barramundi farmer, said the Fisheries Research Institute (FRI) in Batu Maung, Penang, has roughly calculated that the 46ha Laguna Tujoh can produce 300 metric tonnes of net pen fish per year.
However, they’re falling short of this target because of the above-mentioned constraints.
He said the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Ministry has approved an allocation of RM29 million to deepen the lagoon mouth.
“The project was to begin this month. We hope the government will expedite works so that we don’t continue operating at a loss,“ he said. — Bernama
