KUALA TERENGGANU: The Sungai Como high-impact aquaculture project in Tasik Kenyir harvested nearly 327 tonnes of freshwater fish the last two years and has reduced poverty.
Terengganu Fisheries Department director Zawawi Ali said the project yielded 204,830kg of fish for 2016 and 122,000kg last year.
He said the project, involving fish-rearing in cages, was part of the poverty eradication initiative by the government in 2007.
“The total investment, including infrastructure and the cages, is almost RM20 million.
“Initially, we roped in 80 participants via our E-Kasih programme as pioneers for the project, which covers 3,027ha of the aquaculture industry zone.
“One of the participating companies was selected to spearhead the project, but it eventually pulled out. But that did not stop the initiative from proceeding, stimulating Terengganu’s socioeconomy by creating jobs and business opportunities for locals,” said Zawawi.
He said in 2011, several companies became innovative and built more fish cages in the lake.
“This supplemented the production and led to improved dividends, which benefited the participating companies,” said Zawawi, adding that each participant made at least RM1,000 per month.
The harvested fishes were sold fresh or frozen at RM10 per kg, depending on the size and species, to restaurants or eateries in the state and elsewhere.
Today, the Sungai Como “Red Kenyir” trademark is well known for its high quality and the project itself has become a tourism product. Since the inception of the Sungai Como aquaculture project, ab out 2,000 cages have been installed.