By Sheeda Fathil
SHAH ALAM, Sept 17 — Approximately 2,624 kg of suckermouth catfish, commonly known as pleco, were caught over five days during the invasive species' catching programme which began on September 1.
Pertubuhan Komuniti Pemburu Ikan Bandaraya deputy secretary Muhammad Izwan Ismail said the programme has received encouraging public support.
"The number of pleco fish caught has decreased, and the programme has also helped inland fishermen obtain fish via the '1 kg for RM1' initiative by using nets.
"Each week, we receive around 100 participants; some are the same individuals, while others are different," he said when contacted yesterday.
Izwan also invited the public to continue supporting the programme, which takes place every weekend until September 29, to help achieve the initiative's aim of conserving rivers and the local species ecosystem.
At the start of this month, the state government allocated RM50,000 to organise the programme, with a target of 50 tonnes of fish caught by the end of September.
The RM1 per kg incentive for catching pleco fish at Denai Sungai Kebangsaan throughout this month applies on the following dates: 1st, 7th, 8th, 14th, 15th, 21st, 22nd, 28th, and 29th, from 8am to 1pm.
On September 10, state executive councillor for agriculture and infrastructure Izham Hashim said that a total of 1.72 tonnes of pleco fish were caught on September 1, September 7, and September 8.
He added that all the fish caught were taken to a special processing centre for disposal and to be turned into animal feed and organic fertiliser using Yanisys Bio-Nano Technology.
