Will land reclamation affect fisheries?

 Development issues, Environment, Sustainable development  17 Responses »
Oct 292010
 

Under the Penang Structure Plan (2005-2010), major land reclamation has been slated for Penang. But how will this affect water quality and fisheries in the state?


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Under the Plan, the following projects are slated as part of reclamation in Penang (as highlighted in a 2007 presentation by JPS):

  • artificial islands in Tanjong Tokong
  • Gurney Drive reclamation
  • an artificial island in the Middle Bank (which is an eco-sensitive fisheries area)
  • the area north and south of the Penang Bridge
  • the extension of the North Butterworth Container Terminal to Teluk Air Tawar (long stretch, that)
  • the Penang Airport expansion

Now, some of these ambitious plans were obviously planned with the controversial Penang Outer Ring Road in mind. Of late, though, talk has re-surfaced about land reclamation involving the Middle Bank, between Queensbay and the Light project. Continue reading »

 Posted by Anil Netto at 3.38pm  Tagged with: , , , ,

Butterworth: Muddy waters choke fish

 Development issues, Environment  18 Responses »
Oct 272010
 

Muddy waters at Pantai Bersih, along the northern coast of Butterworth, have been causing concern among fisher folk.

It is not clear what is polluting these waters – not far from ports on the mainland and the island.

On a related note, Pantai Bersih is anything but – in fact, it is a haphazard eyesore of illegal and legal buildings right up to the coast line. Pity the poor residents of Butterworth as this  small stretch, as well as the Robena Park area, is their only recreational space after the Butterworth Outer Ring Road cut off access to the beach along most of the coast line.

These reports from theSun.

Sea of mud
by Himanshu Bhatt

Polluted waters off Butterworth killing marine life, say fishermen

Abdullah compares the muddy sea water to clear water.
SEBERANG PERAI (Oct 24, 2010) : The seas off Butterworth are being affected by a mysterious mud-like deluge that is killing fish and other marine life along a 5km stretch of shoreline. Continue reading »

 Posted by Anil Netto at 3.51pm  Tagged with: , , ,

Mysterious mass fish deaths along Rajang River

 Environment  No Responses »
Jan 102009
 

How did these fish die along a stretch of the Rajang River?

The NREB should check on the siltation levels in the river. Have the levels increased after heavy rains or storms? Was there a  sudden mud-flow which could have covered the fish gills with mud and silt or stirred up other sedimentation? If so, what caused the heavier siltation or mud flow?

The Borneo Post Online – http://www.theborneopost.com -

NREB investigating cause of dead fish
Posted By rajlira On 6th January 2009 @ 10:00 In Local

KUCHING: The Natural Resources and Environmental Board (NREB) yesterday began investi-gating the cause behind the huge number of dead fish floating in the Rajang River between Long Murum in Upper Belaga and Kapit.

NREB Controller Dr Penguang Manggil said in a phone interview the investigation was expected to take “a few days”.

He stressed it was still too early to determine the cause of the problem. “At the moment, we can’t pinpoint (the cause) and nobody can tell what exactly is the cause until an investigation is carried out.”

Penguang explained that the investigation would include taking water samples from the river for analysis.

Continue reading »

 Posted by Anil Netto at 9.51am  Tagged with: ,
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