Fisheries department replanting seagrass to conserve dugong habitats
ISKANDAR PUTERI: The Fisheries Department is replanting seagrass to conserve the plant in Pulau Tinggi and Pulau Sibu, Mersing, which are dugong grazing areas and habitats.

Fisheries Department Deputy Director-General of Fisheries (Management) Wan Muhammad Aznan Abdullah said the effort was carried out by the department's experts in collaboration with Public Higher Education Institutions (IPTA) to further attract the presence of these mammals on the two islands, which have been gazetted as Marine Parks.

"In addition to replanting seagrass beds, like in Pulau Tinggi, sometimes the current is too strong and it displaces the growing seagrass. Therefore, we will also create artificial reefs to develop coral so that the seagrass can be sheltered from the current," he said after launching the Johor Fisheries Aquaculture Flavours Programme and Roadshow here on Thursday (June 6).

He said this when asked to comment on the Fisheries Department's efforts to prevent the dugong from going extinct in Mersing waters.

The Fisheries Department, in a previous statement, said the Mersing islands were where dugongs were often found, but due to threats to their habitat, their population was shrinking.

According to the Fisheries Department, the seagrass meadows around Pulau Sibu and Pulau Tinggi were important grazing areas for dugongs, as seen from the effects of grazing throughout the seagrass survey and the effects of grazing since 2014.

The Fisheries Department said although the exact number of dugongs in the Mersing islands is unknown, the Marine Mammal Research and Conservation (MareCet) suggests that the dugong population in the area was unlikely to exceed 100.

Meanwhile, when asked about the issue of mussels in Port Dickson's waters being contaminated with dangerous biotoxins, Wan Muhammad Aznan said they were still not safe to eat.

"The ban on selling mussels is in effect until we make sure the biotoxin level is below 800 parts per billion,” he said.

On April 4, Wan Muhammad Aznan said the laboratory analysis results of the Kuala Lumpur Fisheries Biosecurity Centre showed that harmful algae had caused mussels in Port Dickson's waters to be contaminated and unsafe to eat. – Bernama
Fisheries Department,Seagrass Replanting,Dugong Conservation,Pulau Tinggi,Pulau Sibu,Marine Parks,Mersing,Mussel Contamination,Biotoxins,Marine Mammal Research
ISKANDAR PUTERI: The Fisheries Department is replanting seagrass to conserve the plant in Pulau Tinggi and Pulau Sibu, Mersing, which are dugong grazing areas and habitats.