Guest guest Posted September 3, 2002 Report Share Posted September 3, 2002 ***************************Advertisement*************************** TechCentral http://star-techcentral.com ***************************************************************** This message was forwarded to you by yitzeling. Comment from sender: This article is from thestar.com.my URL: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2002/9/3/features/hrmammal & sec=f\ eatures ________________________ Tuesday, September 03, 2002 Declining numbers By HILARY CHIEW WHEN Jamirin (not his real name) caught a dolphin in his fishing net in Marudu Bay off the east coast of Sabah in July last year, he decided to keep the animal as a pet because it was so adorable. So he went around enquiring about the proper procedure for applying for a permit to keep the dolphin. Word got to the Fisheries Department and a marine mammal scientist was sent to investigate the matter. However, when Saifullah A. Jaaman, deputy director of Borneo Marine Research Institute of Universiti Malaysia Sabah, arrived at the scene, the dophin had already died. The bottlenose dolphin had been tied to a pole by its fluke for two weeks, and had refused food offered by its captor. It was in shallow water and there were bruises around its fluke. “I think it died of stress. The poor creature must have struggled to free itself. It is a wild animal, so even if it is allowed to swim but kept in captivity, it would struggle until it is exhausted,” says Saifullah. “In all honesty, he didn & #8217;t know he was breaking the law. It was sheer ignorance.” No legal action was taken against Jamirin. Under the state & #8217;s Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997, those found keeping protected animals or killing them can be liable to a maximum fine of RM20,000 and two years & #8217; imprisonment. Three fishermen in Semporna, Sabah, paid the price for violating the law. The trio of Sea Bajau fishermen were each sentenced to 12 months & #8217; jail for killing 12 dolphins three years ago. The case was later dubbed “the wedding hunt”. “The spinner dolphins were caught near Ligitan Island,” says Saifullah. “The Pelauh (local name for the nomadic Sea Bajau) had gone out to sea in the hope of catching two of the mammals for use as wedding gifts, according to their matrimonial custom. “The hunters harpooned an adult which eventually led them to a pod (group) of dolphins which tried to save their injured friend. Overcome by greed, the fishermen bombed the area to net the rest of the pod. That explained the external injuries on the animals, including three juveniles which were not harpooned.” Their overloaded banca, a traditional watercraft used by the sea gypsies, aroused the suspicion of the patrolling Police Field Force who thought they were smugglers. The shocking discovery was referred to the wildlife authorities which subsequently prosecuted the fishermen, resulting in the first conviction of its kind in the country. “During the Sessions Court trial in Tawau, the fishermen claimed they did not know that dolphins were a protected species. They said they caught these animals to be served as a delicacy for a wedding party and as a dowry for the bride. “Killing a shark, dugong, dolphin or whale, at least once in a man & #8217;s life, is a traditional Pelauh ritual that signifies a person & #8217;s manhood. “I believe the hunt is still on but no arrest has been made since this landmark case. As the practice is rooted in the culture of the Pelauh, it is difficult to stop them,” explains Saifullah who has been researching marine mammals in Sabah and Sarawak for the past six years. Surveys on coastal communities in Sabah and Sarawak reveal that marine mammals such as dolphins and dugongs are becoming increasingly scarce in Sabah waters. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, sightings of these mammals were a daily affair for fisherfolk. The two reported incidents of human impact on marine mammals in Sabah waters highlight the urgency to engage local communities in conservation programmes in spite of the plethora of regulations to protect these animals. Protection of all cetaceans and dugongs in Malaysian waters and within the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone is provided for under the Fisheries Act 1985 and the Fisheries Regulations 1999 (Control of Endangered Species of Fish). Sabah and Sarawak have their own state laws which reflect the federal legislation and include specific regulations for management of wildlife within state jurisdiction like the Sarawak Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998 and the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997. These laws prohibit any person from catching, killing, possessing, consuming, or importing and exporting any marine mammal found in Malaysia. According to Saifullah, a survey between May 1997 and October 2000 reveal that only half of the 234 groups of fishermen interviewed in the coastal regions of Sabah and Sarawak were aware of the regulations. Sensitising stakeholders As has been demonstrated time and again with other conservation issues, the future lies in sensitising stakeholders and educating the public through awareness programmes. Unlike the Land Bajau who hunt for deer, the Sea Bajaus rely on marine mammals for their source of red meat. The stateless status of the nomadic Pelauh poses another problem to community-based conservation efforts in resolving the conflict caused by indigenous hunting practices and the need to conserve the animal. “Their inclusion into any conservation programme can be misconstrued as endorsing and legalising their presence in Malaysia. But if they are excluded and later run foul of the law, the action may be misunderstood as victimisation. “Their nomadic nature also makes it difficult to keep track of their whereabouts or do follow-ups,” says Saifullah. The current nationwide crackdown on illegal immigrants and the heightened security surveillance in Sabah waters may serve as a temporary check on the problem of illegal hunting of marine mammals. Since 1990s, says Saifullah, the practice of indigenous hunting has been reduced to a “catch on sight” activity where fishermen carry their harpoons with them at all times so as not to miss out on any encounter. “If the captured animal is too big to be loaded onto the boat, the fishermen will drown the animal by turning it upside down since marine mammals breathe through their nostrils. The dead animal is then towed to shore,” explains Saifullah. “In some instances, the animal is butchered at sea.” Saifullah reckons that indigenous utilisation must be sustainable although the traditional rights of the people to natural resources are recognised. But what happens when the supposedly traditional practice finds its way into the open market, fuelled by the appetite for exotic meat? A kilogram of dugong meat can fetch between RM5 and RM10 in Kudat, Sandakan and Semporna in Sabah, while a whole dugong can fetch as much as RM400, depending on its weight. In Sarawak, some fishermen in Kuching have been selling dolphin meat for between RM2 and RM6 per kilogram to local villagers. ”To date there have been three recorded seizures & #8211; the 12 dolphins from the & #8216;wedding hunt & #8217; in Semporna, an accidentally caught dugong at Kudat market and finless porpoise meat that was being sold at a fish market near Kuching,” Saifullah points out. Apart from its meat, dugong parts are being sought after for their purported medicinal and mystical uses. Dugong teardrops are used by traditional medicine men for concocting love potions, while the tusks and sternum bones are believed to cure asthma, poor eyesight and high fever. They are also fashioned into amulets to guard orchards from wild boars. Deadly entanglement Incidental catches of dugongs, finless porpoises and dolphins, particularly the Irrawaddy dolphins, are known to occur regularly in gillnets and kelong (fish trap), and to a lesser extent in trawl nets. In Sabah and Sarawak, a preliminary survey shows that at least one mammal is being caught every year in every village surveyed & #8211; a figure that may be unsustainable for some resident populations. “Out of 150 groups of fishermen interviewed in Sabah, 35 reported that they have accidentally caught dugongs in their fishing nets, at least once in the last five years,” reveals Saifullah. In Sarawak, all six groups of fishermen interviewed in Limbang and Lawas also admitted having accidentally caught the mammal once in the Bay of Brunei. The nasty practice of fish-bombing which had destroyed colonies of coral reefs in Sabah waters had also taken its toll on marine mammals, affecting their orientation, and in some cases, injuring or killing them. The increasing popularity of boating as a sport poses a new threat to marine mammals which risk being hit by these mean machines. “Some of the dugongs which were washed ashore on the beaches of Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, and Pasir Gudang in Johor, bore signs that they were hit by boat propellers. In addition to these risks, increased navigation is likely to have an effect on dugong behaviour, forcing them to leave busy areas or modify their feeding habits,” adds Saifullah. Degrading habitat Saifullah acknowledges that little assessment has been done on cetacean habitats and related problems in Malaysian waters. Nevertheless, he adds, some problems are to be expected. “Large tracts of coastlines are either under development or gazetted for future development. Coastal development and land reclamation have resulted in the destruction of important habitats such as seagrass beds, coral reefs and mangroves that many marine creatures depend on. “Untreated industrial, agricultural, mining and urban wastes carried by run-offs contaminate the marine environment. These pollutants can accumulate in marine mammals through the food chain, and this problem has not been examined in Malaysia,” notes Saifullah. Land use patterns in Sabah and Sarawak also pose an indirect threat to marine mammals. Logging and the subsequent conversion of forests into large-scale oil palm plantations along rivers have resulted in an increase in the discharge of effluents into the sea, changing the dynamics of the marine ecosystem. Declining fish stocks caused by the cumulative effects of pollution and over-fishing has led to increasing competition for fish between fishermen and smaller cetaceans in the coastal waters of Malaysia. On bigger cetaceans like the various species of whales which have been sighted in Malaysian waters, Saifullah says more field work would be carried out in future for further identification and to determine their behaviour, distribution and migratory patterns. & #8211; Pictures by Saifullah A. Jaaman<p> ________________________ Your one-stop information portal: The Star Online http://thestar.com.my http://biz.thestar.com.my http://classifieds.thestar.com.my http://cards.thestar.com.my http://search.thestar.com.my http://star-motoring.com http://star-space.com http://star-jobs.com http://star-ecentral.com http://star-techcentral.com 1995-2002 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. 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