KUALA TERENGGANU: The arrival of the monsoon marks the beginning of the fish spawning season in Tasik Kenyir and this phenomena attracts poachers who risk their lives to catch fish full of eggs.
To ensure that the fish spawning frenzy is not disturbed, the Central Terengganu Development Authority (KETENGAH) has announced the closure of major rivers around the lake where fish migrate to spawn.
The rivers are Sungai Petang which is also a kelah sanctuary, Sungai Petuang, Sungai Terengganu Mati, Sungai Tembat, Sungai Cacing and Sungai Lawit.
Ketengah chairman Datuk Zulkifli Mohamad said the closure would be over a period of three months effective November, to allow the fish to spawn undisturbed.
"This is the only mass spawning period for fish and this is also a dangerous time for anyone to venture along the rivers, due to the water column (kepala air) phenomenon, which can occur anytime.
"We want enforcement agencies such as the Fisheries Department, National Parks and Wildlife Department and the Forestry Department to step up their patrols at major rivers.
"In the past, our men had confiscated fishing nets left by poachers and handed them over to the Fisheries Department, but it seems that illegal fishermen return every year, especially during the spawning season," he told the New Straits Times.
He added the spawning areas must be protected to ensure the fish stock remain abundant and sustainable to lure anglers to Tasik Kenyir.
"Angling is a tourism product in Tasik Kenyir and we need to ensure it remains an attraction. We need to also ensure that the lake lives up to its tagline as an angler's paradise," he added.
Zulkifli said restocking the lake naturally would take time and as such, the parent stock needs to be protected and allowed to breed.
"Greed, backed by illegal fishing methods in Tasik Kenyir will decimate the fish population and thwart efforts to promote the lake as a prime tourist destination in the country," he added.