(MY) kelah sanctuary

[Guest guest]

Kelah sanctuary opens its doors to curious tourists-new straits times*10 Sep

2006*

JESSICA LIM <news

 

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*It's 2pm and the lunch bell rings. Only this time, it's a school of elusive

ikan kelah that turn up for the meal. JESSICA LIM plays eco-tourist at Taman

Negara's kelah sanctuary.

*

THE weather-beaten man wades to the middle of Sungai Kuala Juram and sits

down, a large bucket gripped between his knees and an ice cream bell in

hand.

 

The bucket is filled with brown, M & M-sized fish food pellets, which he

generously flings across the swirling waters.

 

Several arm-lengths away, flashes of black, brown and white break the

surface as all kinds of river fish take part in the feeding frenzy.

 

But Mustafa Abdul Karim, local villager turned research assistant, has eyes

only for the characteristic reddish-white, scaly body of his favourite fish

— the elusive and highly prized ikan kelah.

 

Every day for the past two and a half years, come rain or shine, Mustafa

would sit in the same spot, ringing his bell and throwing out the feed.

 

His goal has been to make friends with kelah, or the Malaysian Mahseer,

whose tasty flesh and value as a game fish has caused their steady depletion

to the point of near- extinction in most parts of Malaysia.

 

" I'll sit here in the river two hours, maybe two and a half, " grinned the

44-year-old as the cold river water soaked him through.

 

" This fish kuat merajuk (gets upset easily). Once, when I missed two days of

feeding, it took a week to convince them to come near me again. "

 

Mustafa is one of 17 fish wardens at the National Park Kelah Sanctuary, a

collaborative effort between the Department of Wildlife and National Parks

and Usains Holding Sdn Bhd, the corporate arm of Universiti Sains Ma-

laysia.

 

The RM5 million project focuses on three parts of the park's rivers.

 

Mustafa is solely in charge of the sanctuary in Kuala Juram, which is about

13km from Taman Negara's Merapoh base camp. The other wardens take care of

the other sanctuaries in Pos Melantai and Lubuk Tenor.

 

The project started six years ago to conserve the fish, whose flesh can

fetch RM500 per kg on a dinner plate. It can weigh as much as a man at

maturity (although it rarely reaches this size nowadays), with a lifespan of

between 40 and 50 years.

 

After five years of studying and breeding the fish, the sanctuary decided to

open its hallowed doors to tourists this year.

 

On a good, quiet day when the water is clear and lady luck is on your side,

you might be able to actually touch the fish. On a bad day when the river is

murky, you might see nothing at all.

 

Great news for the fish, but bad news for people hoping to devour it — you

are strictly forbidden from removing them from the river.

 

At Pos Melantai, you are allowed to hold any kelah fish you catch for a

fleeting photo before the wardens make you put it back.

 

The project has converted some kelah eaters to kelah activists, like school

teacher Muhammad Zahidi Abbas, who recently took part in a kelah expedition.

 

He recalled fishing trips to Kuala Lipis with his buddies in the past. They

would throw their baits so it mimicked a falling fruit, then duck behind

trees to keep out of sight.

 

No fish was more exciting to hook than a kelah, and they would have a gala

time fighting to reel it in.

 

" It struggles so much because it wants to live. I really regret ever

catching any, " he said.

 

" I saw the fish up close, and actually touched its cheek. I heard about its

life from the wardens. Man, I felt like crying. I'll never eat a kelah

again. "

 

So it's all rosy for the kelah. Or is it?

 

Malaysian Nature Society head of Parks and Special Projects Andrew J.

Sebastian isn't fully convinced.

 

Though he applauds the conservation part of the project, he finds the whole

making-them-our-friends part kind of fishy.

 

The concern was that scheduled feeding would interfere with the fish's

natural biology and cause them to be dependent on humans.

 

" This is shy ikan kelah, not dolphins jumping through a hoop, " he said.

 

" It's almost making a mockery of the whole conservation effort. It's like

saying 'let's repopulate tigers but make them all tame'. It's not natural. "

 

Even Mustafa, who calls the kelah his 'babies', is in two minds about

getting the fish to trust humans too much.

 

He doesn't allow more than six people at a time into the water, and believes

he doesn't feed them enough to make them dependent. He said their main diet

still came from fallen fruits, small fish and worms.

 

" Well, awareness of the kelah is increasing, thanks to the programme.

 

" But they are a wild river fish, and I really hope they'll stay that way. "