Saturday February 4, 2012
Arowana declared world’s top breed by international body
PETALING JAYA: It's official -- the highly prized
Malaysian golden arowana has been declared as the best golden arowana
species in the world by an international body. CITES (Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species and Wild Fauna and Flora)
had certified the species, which was unique to Malaysia, as the best,
Deputy International Trade and
Industry Minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir said.
“The Malaysian golden arowana (
scleropages formosus)
fetches the highest premium compared to other species,” he said
yesterday after visiting the Bintong Arowana Farm in Bukit Merah, Perak.
Best
in the world: Shopper Woo Suk Pin, 22, from Perak admiring a RM15,000
Sapphire Golden Arowana on display at the Viva Mall in Cheras. The
highly prized Malaysian golden arowana has been declared as the best
golden arowana species in the world by an international body. — AZHAR
MAHFOF / The Star
The 40ha farm is the world's largest cluster of arowana fish farms.
North Malaysia Arowana Breeders Association secretary Sahibul Anwar Arba'e said the species, also called
kelisa emas, could only be found in the wild in Bukit Merah Lake and Sungai Kerian.
“It is not found elsewhere in Malaysia or any other country.
“That
is why we are demanding that other exporters from Singapore and
Indonesia maintain the name Malaysian golden arowana,” he said, adding
that CITES had given export permits to breeders in Malaysia, Singapore
and Indonesia only.
Sahibul, who is also the managing director of
Crossback Arowana Bukit Merah, said a young golden arowana, which was
about 7cm to 10cm long, could fetch up to RM1,500.
“We can only
export golden arowanas that are more than 15cm long, which take between
six and seven months to grow to that length,” he said, adding that the
export price was between RM2,500 and RM3,000 each.
“During a recent auction in China, our golden arowana fetched RM38,000,” he said, adding it was about 35cm long.
Sahibul
said golden arowanas were fertile between the ages of three and 20
years, adding that the fish could live up to 50 years and grow up to a
metre long.
He said golden arowana breeding was a lucrative business.
Sahibul added that there were 32 CITES licence holders in Malaysia.
