Local demand for seafood has resulted in the rapid decline of fish supply due to overfishing, WWF-Malaysia president Datuk Dr Dionysius S.K. Sharma said.

 

Fisheries play an important role in Malaysia's culture and economy. The total fish production in 2007 was 1.65 million tonnes valued at MYR5.8 billion (US$1.74 billion), according to Sharma.

 

Despite the increase in the value of fish production over the years, the situation on the ground is worrying. "We are taking some of our fish stocks out of the ocean faster that they can be replenished,” he said.

 

"We must be more responsible in our consumption of fish because we simply cannot afford to deplete our oceans of marine life, as it would jeopardise one of our key food sources as well as the fisheries industry that sustains millions of livelihoods,” he added.

 

Meanwhile, Malaysian Nature Society executive director Dr. Loh Chi Leong said the sustainable seafood guide which will be distributed to the public can create awareness among seafood restaurants, hotels, food producers as well as consumers.

 

The bilingual guideline, in pocket size, outlines the types of fishes to avoid such as silver pomfret, black pomfret, ray, threadfin Breams, Darab Wold-herring, Flounder, Silver Sillago, Indian Squid, Needle Cuttlefish, Mud-Spiny Lobster, Slipper Lobster, Humphead Wrasse, mantis Shrimp, Bigeye Trevally, Brownstripe red Snapper, Coral Trout, Duskytail Grouper, Orange-spotted Grouper, Malabar Grouper and Sixbar grouper.

 

Most of the fishes are found in the seas of Malaysia.

 

Loh also urged consumers to start asking questions and become more informed about how and where different species of fish are caught or harvested and whether this is done sustainably for the future.

 

Malaysians are the biggest consumers of seafood in South-east Asia with an average consumption of 1.4 billion kilogramme every year, according to WWF-Malaysia and Malaysian Nature Society.