Sabah dry spell affects fish under native ‘tagal’ conservation scheme

KOTA KINABALU: The sustained hot and dry spell in Sabah is affecting freshwater fish, with many found hurt or dead along the Mantaranau-Kitapol River in the Kiulu area of Mount Kinabalu’s foothills.

Water samples and swabs of the fish have been taken by the Sabah Fisheries Department to determine the level of bacteria and parasites in the water.

Kiulu assemblyman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said he was informed by department officials that they detected a higher level of bacteria and parasites in the water and it was necessary to prevent it from affecting other areas.

“This could be contagious, and we fear that it could spread to other rivers as well,” he said after joining villagers to harvest fish conserved under the “tagal” system in Kampung Kitapol in Kiulu on Monday (Mar 25).

Tagal is a traditional management system in rivers practiced for generations by the indigenous people in Sabah that allows for a period of fish breeding before it is harvested.

It is understood that the current dry spell was likely to have contributed to the high levels of fungi in the river water as there was a drop in dissolved oxygen levels in the water compounded with rotting leaves and trees in the river that has become shallow.

Bangkuai, who is also the state Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, said the situation had forced the community to carry out the fish harvesting festival in the red zone, which prohibits fishing as the stretch was meant for fish breeding.

Soibon Kinsong, the Kampung Kitapol Bombon Community chairman, showing an infected fish harvested from the Mantaranau-Kitapol River in Kiulu.

Other stretches marked as yellow zones are only opened for fishing during certain periods, while villagers are allowed to fish at anytime in the green zone areas.

“The last time this red zone was harvested was about a decade ago. This time, at the advice of the Fisheries officials, villagers were allowed to harvest the fish, rather than leaving it to die and further worsen water quality,” he said.

Meanwhile, Soibon Kinsong, the Kampung Kitapol Bombon Community chairman, said they had noticed wounds on the fish and decided to call the Fisheries Department to check.

“We became worried after seeing the wounds on the fish, and feared other species of freshwater fish might get infected.

“We immediately called the relevant authority to check, after all prevention is better than cure,” he said.

Meanwhile, cousins Sherry Lositim, Anjileh Alfred and Winnie Toisin share their experience living near the river during the prolonged dry spell.

“The water pressure here is low, but at least we have the river as an alternative,” said Sherry, 33, a mother of four children aged three to 10 years old.

However, she admitted that household chores such as cooking and doing laundry could be challenging with the water level dropping.

She said although they had not had water issues to date, but to conserve water, she would take her children to bathe in the river, and later rinse themselves with clean water at home.

“The water tank that has been storing water for the whole village broke about a couple of days ago, but quick action by the villagers to repair the damage saved us from losing supply,” she said.

Anjileh, a mother of four children aged seven to 16, said she often reminded her children not to waste water.

“My son, who is staying at the SMK Tun Fuad Stephens hostel in Kiulu, came home last weekend to do his laundry because they were forced to carry out water rationing due to the dry spell.

“We had to do laundry late at night because the water pressure is stronger to fill the washing machine,” the 36-year-old explained.