Total lipid contents and fatty acid composition of 13 marine fish species namely, "jenahak" (Lutianus agentimaculatus), "kebasi" (Anadontostoma chacunda), "duri" (Arius cumatranus), "tenggiri batang" (Scomberomorus commersoni), "kembong" (Rastrelliger kanagurta), "kintan" or "sebalah" (Psettodes crumei), "kerisi" (Pristipomodes typus), "kerapu" (Epinephelus sexfasciatus), "gelama kling" (Sciaena dussumieri), "malong" (Congresax talabon), "laban" (Cynoglossus lingua), "yu 9" (Scolidon sorrakowah) and "bagi" (Aacnthurs nigrosis) commonly found in Pulau Tuba, one of the islands surrounding the popular tourist destination Langkawi in Malaysia were determined. All fish showed a considerable amount of unsaturated fatty acids particularly those with 4, 5 and 6 double bonds. Two physiologically important n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), i.e. eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docasahaexaenoic acid (DHA), made up of more than 50% of the total PUFAs. For saturated fatty acids, palmitic was found to be the major one in all types of fish studied. Based on DHA, EPA and arachidonic acid (AA) contents, "gelama kling" was found to be the best source (23, 11 and 7%, respectively) followed by "kerapu" (21, 10, 9%) and "sebalah" (19, 14, 4%).
We evaluated the potential for biomagnification of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) such as nonylphenol (NP), octylphenol (OP), bisphenol A (BP), and natural estrogens such as estrone (E1) and 17β-estradiol (E2) in a benthic fish, Pleuronectes yokohamae. The assimilation efficiencies (AE) of most EDCs ranged from 88 to 96% suggesting that they were efficiently incorporated and assimilated into P. yokohamae, except for NP (50%). However, the biomagnification factor (BMF) values were <1.0 suggesting that the compounds were not biomagnifying. Additionally, three of the target EDCs were not detected (BP, E1 and E2). Glucuronidation activity towards BP (11.44 ± 2.5 nmol/mg protein/min) and E2 (12.41 ± 3.2 nmol/mg protein/min) was high in the intestine suggesting that EDCs were glucuronidated prior to excretion into bile. Thus, we conclude that biomagnification of dietary EDCs is reduced in P. yokohamae because of effective glucuronidation.
Human activities, such as industrial, agricultural, and domestic pursuits, discharge effluents into riverine ecological systems that contains aquatic resources, such as fish, which are also used by humans. We conducted case studies in Malaysia to investigate the impacts of these human activities on water and fish resources, as well as on human well-being from an ergonomics perspective. This research shows that a green ergonomics approach can provide us with useful insights into sustainable relationships between humans and ecology in facilitating human well-being in consideration of the overall performance of the social-ecological system. Heavy metal concentrations contained in the effluents pollute river water and contaminate fish, eventually creating significant health risks and economic costs for residents, including the polluters. The study suggests a number of policy interventions to change human behavior and achieve greater collaboration between various levels of government, academia, civil society, and businesses to help establish sustainable relationships between humans and ecology in Malaysia.
Phase distribution of emerging organic contaminants is highly influential in their presence, fate and transport in surface water. Therefore, it is crucial to determine their state, partitioning behaviour and tendencies in water environments. In this study, Bisphenol A was investigated in both colloidal and soluble phases in water. BPA concentrations ranged between 1.13 and 5.52 ng L-1 in the soluble phase and n.d-2.06 ng L-1 in the colloidal phase, respectively. BPA was dominant in the soluble phase, however, the colloidal contribution ranged between 0 and 24% which implied that colloids can play a significant role in controlling BPA's transportation in water. Urban and industrial areas were the main sources of BPA while forest areas displayed lower levels outside the populated domains. pH levels were between 6.3 and 7.4 which might have affected BPA's solubility in water to some extent. The particle size distribution showed that the majority of the particles in river samples were smaller than 1.8 µm in diameter with a small presence of nanoparticles. Zeta potential varied between - 25 and - 18 mV, and these negative values suggested instability of particles. Furthermore, BPA was positively correlated with BOD, COD and NH3-N which might indicate that these organic compounds were released concurrently with BPA. RQ assessment showed low levels of risk towards algae and fish in the study area.
Sharir Aizat Kamaruddin, Muhammad Huzaifah Jaafar, Muhammad Ariff Zakariya, Muhammad Fayyadh Fadzilan, Aliff Iqbal Ahmad Nadzri, Khairul Naim Abd.Aziz, et al.
This research is conducted to investigate the effects of cubed and crushed ice on the crude fat, ash, and
moisture content of Channa striata and Clarias batrachus. The samples were chilled to four and seven days in the Polyvinyl chloride plastic (PVC) boxes filled with cubed ice and crushed ice. Before the determination of crude, ash, and moisture content, the samples were frozen for 1 week. Statistical
analyses were carried out to indicate the significant difference in the effects of treatment days and
physical characteristics of ice towards the crude fat, ash, and moisture content. The result concludes that crushed ice is more superior to cubed ice for all experiments. The outcomes of this research benefit many parties specially to cubed ice suppliers to support aquaculture industries and the socio-economic sectors in Malaysia.
The central and north west coast of Sabah lies along the western extremity of the Coral Triangle, within which are situated several marine protected areas (MPAs). In the present study we determined in situ coral reef fish populations in several localities along the west coast of Sabah, by exploring species abundance, richness and diversity of ten economically important fish species. The underwater surveys were conducted from May to December 2015. During this eight- month period, surveys at each site were undertaken once every two months. Dives were conducted during the daylight hours. A total of 171 individuals from the targeted fish species were enumerated from the 349 still images and 220 minutes of video footage. Abundance was observed mainly in the semi-protected MPA (n=110) with only one fish species recorded with more than 2 individuals at protected MPA and unprotected sites. We observed a correlation between fish species richness and coral topographic complexity, with study sites at the semi-protected MPA having the most complex topography landscape, and accordingly recording the highest Shannon-Wiener index (H= 2.85). Higher abundance recorded at study sites in the unprotected sites and semi-protected MPA indicate that such areas could potentially become de facto MPAs. A long-term monitoring, assessment and evaluation of the multiple degrees of variables involved such as length-weight relationship, type of habitat, variation in depth, and species behaviour are recommended in order to understand better the relationship and dynamics between these variables.
Knowledge on the precise identification of fish resources is critical for sustainable fisheries management. This study employs the DNA barcoding approach to generate a molecular taxonomic catalogue of commercially important reef fishes in the waters of Weh Island (Aceh Province), the most northerly inhabited island in the biodiverse Indonesian Archipelago. The waters not only support artisanal fisheries but also a feeder for the industry in the greater island of Aceh. In total, 230 specimens from 72 species belonging to 32 genera and 17 families were DNA barcoded, representing a major segment of the captured reef fish taxa and a quarter of fish species diversity that had previously been recorded. The sequence read lengths were 639 bp revealing 359 conserved sites, 280 variable sites, 269 parsimony informative and 11 singletons. Our molecular findings paralleled the morphological identification with no evidence of cryptic species or new species discovery. This study is a significant contribution to the fisheries statistics of this area, which would facilitate assessment of species catch composition and hence for strategizing management plans. It is an important input to the DNA barcode library of Indonesian marine fishes and to the global DNA barcode entries in general.
Global food demand is rising, and serious questions remain about whether supply can increase sustainably1. Land-based expansion is possible but may exacerbate climate change and biodiversity loss, and compromise the delivery of other ecosystem services2-6. As food from the sea represents only 17% of the current production of edible meat, we ask how much food we can expect the ocean to sustainably produce by 2050. Here we examine the main food-producing sectors in the ocean-wild fisheries, finfish mariculture and bivalve mariculture-to estimate 'sustainable supply curves' that account for ecological, economic, regulatory and technological constraints. We overlay these supply curves with demand scenarios to estimate future seafood production. We find that under our estimated demand shifts and supply scenarios (which account for policy reform and technology improvements), edible food from the sea could increase by 21-44 million tonnes by 2050, a 36-74% increase compared to current yields. This represents 12-25% of the estimated increase in all meat needed to feed 9.8 billion people by 2050. Increases in all three sectors are likely, but are most pronounced for mariculture. Whether these production potentials are realized sustainably will depend on factors such as policy reforms, technological innovation and the extent of future shifts in demand.
This study focuses on the parasites in Dascyllus trimaculatus fish in Bidong Island. Though D. trimaculatus is a common reef fish, there is lack on parasites studies of this fish in Malaysia. The objectives of this study are to identify metazoan parasites and analyse the prevalence and mean intensity the parasites in D. trimaculatus. Sampling was randomly conducted on a coral colony of 100 meters within a 15m depth at Pantai Pasir Cina,BidongIsland.ThisresearchresultedintheidentificationofacopepodLernaeocera branchialis and a nematode from the family Camallanidae. The copepods collected in this study infected 20 out of 42 D. trimaculatus specimens, whereas the nematode-like parasites collected infected 18 of out of 42 D. trimaculatus. All copepods found in the gills of D. trimaculatus had a prevalence of 4.95 and mean intensity of 47.62%, while the nematode-like parasite, which were found in the brain, had 2.72 prevalence and 42.86% mean intensity. This elucidates that both parasites are categorised as having light levelbut common frequency of infection, and the current IUCN status of D. trimaculatus has not been reported to be harmedby parasites. Though the mean intensity of both parasites isnot harmful, the prevalence are concerning and might increase in the future, with further incorporation and monitoring of climate change factors that may affect the damselfish.
Yellow gourami (Trichopodus trichopterus) is a species native to Southeast Asia and is famous as ornamental species. However, hobbyists and farmers encounter problems where its body colour easily becomes faded in captivity. Since colour enhancer pellets are expensive, an experiment was performed to determine whether tank colour can influence the body colour intensity and growth of T. trichopterus. Four different tank colours (white, yellow, blue and green) with five replicates were tested where fish were kept under natural lighting (outdoor) conditions for two months. The results demonstrated that fish reared in green coloured tank showed an increment in its colour intensity while fish reared in white tanks increased its body weight. It can be concluded that tank colour does affect the body colour intensity and weight of T. trichopterus. This study will help farmers and hobbyists to solve colour fading problem using a cheaper way.
Taman Negara Pulau Pinang (Penang National Park) is the only site on Pulau Pinang that supports a large population of the White-bellied Sea-eagle (WBSE) Haliaeetus leucogaster; however, the nesting sites of WBSEs have not been widely studied. As information on the location of WBSE nesting sites is very important for conservation works by local authorities, the objective of this study was to determine the distribution of nesting WBSEs in the coastal dipterocarp forest of Penang National Park. Surveys were conducted from December 2007 to July 2008 and October 2008 to April 2009, covering the breeding season of the species (September-July). The nesting sites were observed by boat along the coastline of Penang National Park and by performing ground surveys along the seashore at accessible areas; the nest survey was conducted three days/month from 0900 to 1500. A total of 34 WBSE nesting sites was located. Most of the occupied nests (seven nests) were found at Muka Head and Pantai Kerachut areas, which exhibit the densest concentration of occupied WBSE habitat in Penang National Park. WBSEs preferred to build their nests around Muka Head, which could be due to the frequent occurrence of whirlpools in the water body around that area. Aquatic animals, such as sea snakes and fish, stunned by the whirlpools would emerge to the sea surface, facilitating the foraging and feeding of WBSEs. Our results indicate that it is important to maintain and improve areas of suitable nesting habitat for WBSEs. Management actions should include (1) the yearly monitoring of known breeding sites throughout Penang National Park during the breeding season to determine breeding success over time, (2) recognising the critical habitat or nest-site selection of WBSEs, (3) establishment of a buffer zone surrounding nesting sites and potential habitat from human disturbance, and (4) encouraging on-going research to further understand this species.
In this paper, we studied some biological aspects of big eye scad (Selar crumenophthalmus) from Maldives. The fish sample was collected from the local fish market at Bangaa Faru, Male, Maldives. The length of the samples were ranged from 7.7 cm to 24.5 cm (mean value = 16.85 ± 2.82 cm) in fork length. Body weight ranged between 8 g to 255.6 g (mean value = 87.76 ± 40.41 g). The exponent values (b slope) of lengthweight relationship of S. crumenophthalmus are 2.9838 for females and 2.7687 for males; indicating negative allometric growth pattern for both sexes. Synchronous reproductive behaviour was observed in both sexes and a pronounced peak of Gonadosomatic index was observed in females in January 2013. It is estimated that length at first maturity (L50) for females is at 19.39 cm FL and for males at 21.76 cm FL. Our result also suggest that big eye scad have a reduced swimming capability, resulting the species to be easily caught. Careful planning and management should be implemented to prevent the big eye scad from being overfished.
Stable isotope analysis has been used extensively to establish trophic relationships in many ecosystems. Present study utilised stable isotope signatures of carbon and nitrogen to identify trophic structure of aquatic food web in river and rice field ecosystems in Perak, northern peninsular Malaysia. The mean δ(13)C values of all producers ranged from -35.29 ± 0.21 to -26.00 ± 0.050‰. The greatest δ(15)N values noted was in zenarchopterid fish with 9.68 ± 0.020‰. The δ(15)N values of aquatic insects ranged between 2.59 ± 0.107 in Elmidae (Coleoptera) and 8.11 ± 0.022‰ in Nepidae (Hemiptera). Correspondingly, with all the δ(13)C and δ(15)N values recorded, it can be deduced that there are four trophic levels existed in the freshwater ecosystems which started with the producer (plants), followed by primary consumer (aquatic insects and non-predatory fish), secondary consumer (invertebrate predators) and lastly tertiary consumer (vertebrate predators).
Like many other countries, reservoirs in Malaysia are primarily built for various
functions such as hydroelectric power generation, drinking water supply, flood mitigation
and irrigation for agricultural purposes. Artisanal fisheries activities were also performed in
these reservoirs. The freshwater fish are a requisite source of protein for the rural
population. Consequently, the fish resources in reservoirs should be carefully maintained
at sustainable level. Present study elucidates the preliminary assessment on autecological
studies of beardless barb, Cyclocheilichthys apogon as a model of fish biota in Muda
Reservoir. This research investigates the growth pattern of C. apogon using length-weight
relationship and their condition factor. A total of 307 specimens were captured using cast
net for six consecutive months from March 2014 until August 2014. The growth coefficient
(b) from the length-weight equation (W = aLb
) for male and female of C. apogon were
3.150 and 3.185, respectively, indicating positive allometric growth. The condition factor
values of male and female of C. apogon were 1.023 ± 0.111 and 1.026 ± 0.100,
respectively, suggesting that C. apogon is in good condition in Muda Reservoir. The
paucity of research on the autecological study in the Muda Reservoir contributes to the
main reason of performing this research. The findings will serve as baseline information of
this species in Muda Reservoir, as well as for comparative study in the future.
Level of heavy metals in marine ecosystem has been intensively studied during recent years as these hazardous substances could be accumulated in the biota. Generally, the presence of contaminants in fish is a result of human activities such as industrial and agricultural wastes. In this study, the marine fish and shellfish from the Straits of Malacca were analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrophotometer (ICP-OES) and Flow Injection Mercury System (FIMS) for Cd, As and Pb and Hg, respectively. The Straits of Malacca is one of the busiest shipping routes in the world that make the level of heavy metals potentially high besides the various industrial activities along the west region of Peninsular Malaysia. The range of heavy metals in samples were 1.0-3-6.5-3 µg/ g wet sample for Hg, 0.5-2-47-2 µg/ g wet sample for Cd, 0.01-0.39 µg/ g wet sample for Pb and 0.14-6.57 µg/ g wet sample for As. Most part of the values was below the permitted limit set by FAO/WHO 2004 as well as Food Act 1983 and Food Regulations 1985. Therefore it can be generalized that fish and shellfish from the Straits of Malacca are safe to consume in terms of these heavy metals concentrationand do not constitute a risk for human health.
The profile of total volatile base nitrogen (TVBN), pH, biogenic amines were studied in Indian mackerel packed under different levels of CO2. Gutted and beheaded Indian mackerel was stored in air, vacuum packaging (VP), 30% CO2/65% N2/5% O2 (M30C), 60% CO2/35%N2/5%O2 (M60C), 80% CO2/15%N2/5% O2 (M80C) and 100% CO2 (M100C) at 5°C for 12 days. The application of VP and MAP was effective in retarding the formation of TVBN, total biogenic amines and improve the shelf life of Indian mackerel. Cadaverine obtained the best correlation with storage time when compared with other biogenic amines. Cadaverine or cadaverine + putrescine can serve as a reliable objective freshness indicator of fish stored in different atmospheres. Among the commonly used freshness indices, TVBN was the best quality indicator correlated with histamine. VP and MAP conditions influenced the performance of quality indicators. pH was a good quality indicator of spoilage in air-stored fish except for VP and MAP packed fish. Lower value of TVBN (30 mg/100g) was suggested as an upper limit for this species of fish under MAP condition based on APC and sensory result.
Duck feet collagen was added to threadfin bream and sardine surimi to study its effect on physicochemical properties such as folding test, gel strength, cook loss, water holding capacity, expressible moisture, texture profile analysis and colour measurement. As compared to commercial fish scale collagen and cow collagen, the addition of duck feet collagen resulted in a significant improvement in the quality of the sardine surimi. Duck feet collagen was able to improve the folding test score of sardine surimi from 3.00 to 5.00; gel strength was increased from 275.70 g.mm to 2682.70 g.mm and hardness of gel was increased from 1.12kg to 6.00kg. Addition of duck feet collagen improved the gel strength of threadfin bream surimi from 1696.70 g.mm to 5579.40 g.mm and hardness of gel was increased from 4.55kg to 10.32kg. Colour of threadfin bream and sardine surimi also improve with the addition of duck feet collagen. The lightness was increased from 66.47 to 66.89 (threadfin bream) and from 62.32 to 63.60 for sardine. The results suggest that duck feet collagen has potential as an alternative source of protein additive for the improvement of the physicochemical properties of low grade surimi.
The study was conducted to determine the mineral contents of 20 species of marine fish and 4 species of shellfish from the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.Overall, the contents of micro minerals in all samples were below the permissible limits; except for oyster; with copper slightly higher than the limit set by FAO/WHO (1984), but below the limit set by Malaysian Food Regulations (1985); and zinc content higher than the limit set by Malaysian Food Regulations (1985), but below the limit set by FAO/WHO (1984). Meanwhile for macro minerals, most samples contained comparable sodium contents, significantly lower of potassium contents, higher calcium contents, and extremely higher of magnesium contents compared to the common ranges reported in the literatures. All samples were good sources of micro and macro minerals and could provide multi-health benefits if consumed in recommended amounts.
Combined multiple 2D views (proximal, anterior and ventral aspects) of the sagittal otolith are proposed here as a method to capture shape information for fish classification. Classification performance of single view compared with combined 2D views show improved classification accuracy of the latter, for nine species of Sciaenidae. The effects of shape description methods (shape indices, Procrustes analysis and elliptical Fourier analysis) on classification performance were evaluated. Procrustes analysis and elliptical Fourier analysis perform better than shape indices when single view is considered, but all perform equally well with combined views. A generic content-based image retrieval (CBIR) system that ranks dissimilarity (Procrustes distance) of otolith images was built to search query images without the need for detailed information of side (left or right), aspect (proximal or distal) and direction (positive or negative) of the otolith. Methods for the development of this automated classification system are discussed.
This paper studies about water obtained from fish pond of fisheries research centre. Usual water
quality parameters such as pH, COD, Turbidity and Ammonia content were analyzed before and
after irradiation. Electron beam irradiation was used to irradiate the water with the dose 100 kGy,
200 kGy and 300 kGy. Only high dose was applied on this water as only a limited amount of
samples was supplied. All the parameters indicated a slight increase after irradiation except for the
ammonia content, which showed a gradual decrease as irradiation dose increases. Sample
condition was changed before irradiation in order to obtain more effective results in the following
batch. The water sample from fisheries was diluted with distilled water to the ratio of 1:1.This was
followed with irradiation at 100 kGy, 200 kGy and 300 kGy. The results still showed an increase in
all parameters after irradiation except for ammonia content. For the following irradiation batch,
the pH of the sample was adjusted to pH 4 and pH 8 before irradiation. For this sample the
irradiation dose selected was only 100 kGy. A higher value of ammonia was observed for the
sample with pH 4 after irradiation. Other parameters were almost the same as the first two batches