10 



MALAYAN FISHES. 



Witlliu the mtefs< memory the main rivers: of the West coast 

 were fine dear sf.reHiiJc4, The wflters f»rt)\-iiletl irri;fatioii for the 

 ri(t' fit'hls ami tXHitiiiiH'tl (umiitities of Jine edihk^ fijilu These rivers 

 lire Jit>v\' thk'k turljid strtanijs tmrrviiig a heavy hiiTilen of A'lme and 

 BilL .. . 



4 



We have ,p^oba^>ly fine himilml different sim'it's of Carp done, 

 heeiiics dozens -of specie^s of ( *atlish mid majiy liiu' tissh heIonn:in^ to 

 the families OspjT!IOMknii>.vk. N^iTorTEiiinAK, vh .. t^tc. Catfish can 

 I'xi^t in slime and s<tlt lhou«ih it is iiiit'stioiirthlf wlu'ther they can 

 thrive, but C\irp certainly re<.|mn' i-leer water tt) iM'eed in. 



One of. our Carp tlie K^fah {Barhm sp,) has heen deacrib^il 

 Uy Swetteisham as* tbi^ finest fre^h water lish \w ever at? m the East, 

 fliul thi' Kalui {(hfihromefitis tiifa^r) is sin hi^rhly (.'Steemuil tliat 

 several attenipta have ln*en nia^lo to introtluee it int-o Frame, and it 

 hag been attdimatised in Mauritius, Autstralia and parts of India* 



Tin mining is neeesyjary and somp pollution of the rivers 

 II 11 avoid able ♦ but there have heen many L'aseci where (*arele!*tily con- 

 etrueted danis have hroken and a turbid tiotHl of niime hm lieen 

 allowed to pour direct into the riveni for months while leisurely 

 rt-pairs arc Imng made. Tluni^h nuieh of the daniatfe done in tilie 

 jjtt^it iii irremediable, let wfi hope that a more i^ener^il recognition of 

 the value of the fresh wat4?r fitvheries will result in a fair measure 

 of protection in the futnre. There aro ,^till rivers which can be 

 fiav^d. 



By saving our frej^h water fisli^riet* we shall save, incidentally, 

 onr riw-fieldi?, for Rit^ aJid Fi$h in addition to bein^^ the two 

 staple foods of tlie tTouutry are jn^ieparahle. Wlim you deBtroy one 

 yon destroy the other- 

 where you can grow riee you can eatdi fish and whene yon caja 

 210 longer catdi fish yon cannot grow rioe. 



To e.^jlain : the mining f^ilt which pours into the rivers gradual- 

 ly rai^ps the W of the sitreani and &o causes a rise in tlie water 

 table. A ri^ in the water tjihle limits the htgh of drainailde Isnd. 

 and draina;f{» y m necessary to a riec field as irri^^ation. So the 

 area which can Ite planted \rith rice becomes smaHer and smaller 

 until eventiiallv the water table ia so high that tlu' river channel 

 can no longer carry off storm water. The re?;iilL!nit tiootk depodt 

 a layer of slime and .^ilt on the ri<:e fields and cf»mpk'te the work of 

 dc!5lruction, 



Fi&h f-annot breed in the rivers polluted with .^lirac and &iH, 

 so the Fisheries and rit^e fields perish ?iniu1taneously. In our 

 f>ohcy of construction and development the^e fa<'ts s^hould not i>e 

 iost sight of. 



There is yet another point which has received no attention and 

 that concenifl anadronioiis Marine fi&hcs which enter river,* to 

 spawn. Among these fisbe* the principal one U the Shad (TSru* 



