Diving in Malaysia

Archive for May, 2010

I had a good laugh when I saw the headline on a story over the weekend that a Malaysian Ministry banned sharks fin soup from being served at official functions. That’s kind of like saying “We promise not to run over cows while driving in the city.”

Malaysia’s Natural Resources and Environment Ministry has struck off shark’s fin soup from the menus at official functions, to help conserve the species

Minister Azmi Khalid told the official Bernama news agency that the ministry had made the commitment to the Malaysian Nature Society.

“By refraining from the consumption of shark’s fin soup, it is hoped that the ministry would contribute in one way or another towards the current conservation efforts for sharks species,” he said.

What most people outside of Malaysia don’t know is that Malaysian government is dominated by ethnic Malays. And as such serve only Malay fare at official functions. Whereas sharks fin is an ethnic Chinese dish which Malays would never think of ever consuming because they associate any Chinese food with pork — a dish forbidden by their religion.

At this point, even the local Chinese population would be hard pressed to find real sharks fin being served at Chinese restaurants. Part of the thanks goes to the local conservationists who have done a good job of educating the locals about shark finning. Secondly, sharks fin is a terribly expensive delicacy so restaurants have found a dwindling market for it… too small to keep it on the menu. What they serve as “Sharks fin” at restaurants in Malaysia (even during Chinese New Year) is really a mixture of crab meat and birds nest. It’s only called “Sharks fin” to maintain tradition.

Instead of making false promises, the Malaysian government ought to go after the dealers of sharks fins in Malaysia.

Ninety per cent of fish in the waters around Britain will have disappeared within 20 years unless they are given protection, a leading marine researcher told scientists yesterday.

He told the British Association for the Advancement of Science conference in York that fishing quotas needed to be scrapped and extensive no-fishing zones put in place. He also said that fishing should be halted or strictly limited in a third of Britain’s seas to give stocks time to recover. Fishing ministers, who are said to have disregarded scientific advice on sustainable fishing levels over the past two decades, should be stripped of their powers to rule on how many tonnes can be safely caught, he continued. They would be replaced by a science-led body that is independent of electoral pressures.

The decline in fish stocks around the world, with all species predicted by some experts to collapse by 2048, comes at a time when their nutritional value is recognised more than ever. World Health Organisation officials recommend a weekly intake of 200 to 300 grams of fish each week but today’s catches can only just meet this target.

He told the conference: “On average, over the last 18 years fisheries ministers have set quotas 20 to 30 per cent higher than recommended as safe. If we continue to do that a majority of fish stocks will collapse.”

Since the 1950s an estimated 60 per cent of stocks in British waters have collapsed and he said that more than half of those remaining are already being dangerously overfished.

According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) only 25 to 30 per cent of fish stocks around Britain have been fished sustainably since 2001. “This means that around 70 per cent of UK fish stocks have suffered reduced reproductive capacity and have been harvested unsustainably since 2001,” a Defra report stated, accepting that the scientific advice “is that the fishing rate should be reduced substantially in order to permit the stocks to recover”.