The seaweed industry in Sabah, east Malaysia

Seaweed cultivation was introduced in Sabah since 1978 and has increasingly become an economically important natural resource for Malaysia, particularly for Sabah. It was known to have wide application potentials similar or even better than other commodity such as cocoa and palm oil. Two significant seaweed-based industries had started and are developing at a moderate pace. These are seaweed cultivation or farming and the production of semi refined carragenan from seaweed. Beside the government agencies focusing on socio-economy development for rural peoples, there are private local companies venturing in seaweed processing and cultivation at larger scale in Semporna. Three methods of seaweed cultivation have been widely practiced and established in Sabah namely, raft system (MKII), stake system and long line system. The long line system is being widely practiced with approximately 95% of seaweed farmers employing this method. This was due to the facts that the long line system is more economical and practically easy to handle compared to other system. Kappaphycus alverazii is the most common species and widely farmed in Sabah beside Euchema spinosom in small percentage. Sabah is the sole producer for seaweed in Malaysia. GDP in year 2002 was RM21.16 Billion whereby fisheries sector contributed 3.2% of the total GDP. Total production of dried seaweed in 2002 was 2,562.49 MT with the total wholesale value approximately RM 4.4 million. Total export for dried seaweed from Sabah in 2002 was 1,750 MT by weight and RM14 million by value. Most of dried seaweed production in 2002 exported to the United Kingdom (65.5%), Chile (13.0%), Korea (8.0%), Japan (6.0%) and other countries (7.5%). The main issues and challenges facing the seaweed industry in Sabah in particular and in Malaysia in general will be discussed in this paper. Major programmes are in placed to boost the seaweed production in Sabah, subsequently to meet projected production of seaweed in Malaysia in the year 2010 also will be highlighted

'MyRedTides’ a fast and easy tool for sharing harmful algal bloom information in Sabah, Malaysia

The coastal waters of the Malaysian state of Sabah are frequently affected by harmful algal blooms (HABs) mainly caused by Pyrodinium bahamense var. compressum and Margalefidinium polykrikoides, that have negative impacts on the aquaculture industry and human health. The project aims to develop a Public Information Map using ArcGIS to increase the effectiveness of sharing and communication of HAB information among relevant stakeholders and the community. The Department of Fisheries Sabah (DOFS) also participated in the project and knowledge transfer was done through a two-day on-line training. The output of the project are WebApps called MyRedTides. Altogether, two WebApps were developed: 1) cell density of P. bahamense and M. polykrikoides and 2) paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), i.e., toxin concentration of various coastal locations in Sabah. The developed WebApps contain useful information to the users such as the species responsible, recent, and previous HAB cases, as well as providing a platform for the sharing and exchange of information. Nevertheless, the use of this online WebApps as an early warning system is still at the preliminary stage because the acceptance and reaction of the stakeholders and local communities need to be evaluated. This is important to ensure that the HAB information is handled in the most effective manner

Soybean meal as a source of protein in formulated diets for tiger grouper, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus juvenile. Part II: Improving diet performances with phytase supplementation

The present study was conducted as a continuation of our previous study on the effects of fish meal replacement with soy bean meal, SBM in the diets of tiger grouper, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus which revealed the possible level of fish meal protein replacement of 30% with positive effect of phytase supplementation in one of the test diet. In the present study, all experimental diets with SBM inclusion (10%, 20%, 30%, 40% replacement levels) were supplemented with phytase and fed to juvenile tiger grouper with initial body weight of 44.57 ± 0.28 g for eight weeks. Apart from the effects on growth performance, diet utilization and fish whole-body composition, apparent digestibility coefficient of diets was also measured. Similar findings to our previous experiment were observed in the present study. Diet SM40P (40% replacement level) had produced the poorest growth performance and feed conversion ratio (FCR). However, it was observed that FCR of SM40P was improved when compared to SM40 (without phytase) in our previous experiment. Other than that, SBM-based diets were performed as good as the control diet in terms of growth, feed utilization and survival rate. Replacement of fish meal did not significantly influence body composition, except for whole body lipid content in SM40P. In general, dry matter and protein apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) of the test diets were influenced by SBM inclusion in the diets. However, crude lipid ADC was very high in all dietary treatments indicating efficient utilization of dietary lipid by juvenile tiger grouper. The findings of the present study confirmed that SBM can be used to replace FM at a level of up to 30% and supplementation of phytase in SBM-based diets is recommended to improve the diet performance

Phenotypic characterization and antibiotic susceptibility of Vibrio spp. isolated from aquaculture waters on the west coast of Sabah, Malaysia

The phenotypic characterization and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of 72 environmental isolates of Vibrio spp. collected from six aquaculture sites along the west coast of Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia was investigated. Up to 21 conventional biochemical tests were carried out and the sensitivity of the isolates against 16 antibiotics were tested using the disk diffusion method. In the present study, 11 species of vibrios were isolated with varying percentage of occurrences, with the three most abundant species being Vibrio harveyi (22.2%), V. parahaemolyticus (22.2%) and V. alginolyticus (19.4%). The isolates produced varying results in the biochemical tests. All environmental Vibrio isolates were found sensitive to chloramphenicol, nalidixic acid and oxolinic acid but exhibited resistance to vancomycin and penicillin. Susceptibility was variable for other antibiotics. As for V. alginolyticus, it was found that 100% of the isolates were sensitive to chloramphenicol, nalidixic acid and oxolinic acid but resistant to ampicillin, novobiocin, penicillin and vancomycin. Meanwhile, all V. harveyi isolates were sensitive to chloramphenicol, furazolidone, nalidixic acid, nitrofurantoin and oxolinic acid but resistant to penicillin and vancomycin. All V. parahaemolyticus isolates were observed sensitive to chloramphenicol, nalidixic acid and oxolinic acid but resistant to ampicillin, penicillin and vancomycin. Since all three are important species implicated in fish and shrimp disease, and two (V. parahaemolyticus and V. alginolyticus) can cause clinical ailments in humans, microbial diversity at similar sites should be investigated further

Phenotypic characterization and antibiotic susceptibility of Vibrio spp. isolated from aquaculture waters on the west coast of Sabah, Malaysia

The phenotypic characterization and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of 72 environmental isolates of Vibrio spp. collected from six aquaculture sites along the west coast of Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia was investigated. Up to 21 conventional biochemical tests were carried out and the sensitivity of the isolates against 16 antibiotics were tested using the disk diffusion method. In the present study, 11 species of vibrios were isolated with varying percentage of occurrences, with the three most abundant species being Vibrio harveyi (22.2%), V. parahaemolyticus (22.2%) and V. alginolyticus (19.4%). The isolates produced varying results in the biochemical tests. All environmental Vibrio isolates were found sensitive to chloramphenicol, nalidixic acid and oxolinic acid but exhibited resistance to vancomycin and penicillin. Susceptibility was variable for other antibiotics. As for V. alginolyticus, it was found that 100% of the isolates were sensitive to chloramphenicol, nalidixic acid and oxolinic acid but resistant to ampicillin, novobiocin, penicillin and vancomycin. Meanwhile, all V. harveyi isolates were sensitive to chloramphenicol, furazolidone, nalidixic acid,nitrofurantoin and oxolinic acid but resistant to penicillin and vancomycin. All V. parahaemolyticus isolates were observed sensitive to chloramphenicol, nalidixic acid and oxolinic acid but resistant to ampicillin, penicillin and vancomycin. Since all three are important species implicated in fish and shrimp disease, and two (V. parahaemolyticus and V. alginolyticus) can cause clinical ailments in humans, microbial diversity at similar sites should be investigated further

Morphological and molecular evidence for the recognition of hypoglossum sabahense sp. Nov. (delesseriaceae, rhodophyta) from sabah, malaysia

Funding Information: This work was supported by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC, Programme Oceans 2025, WP 4.5 and grant NE/D521522/1). This work also received support from the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland pooling initiative. MASTS is funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011) and contributing institutions. FCK is grateful to faculty, staff and students at the Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences of the University of Malaya for hosting his visits in November-December 2007 and November-December 2008. Dr. Akira F. Peters (Bezhin Rosko, 29250 Santec, Brittany, France) is acknowledged for his laboratory assistance. The University of Melbourne, School of Biosciences and the facilities provided by Prof. Geoffrey McFadden for 25 years have been invaluable for JAW’s culture programs and publications since 1994.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Genetic diversity and population structure of terapon jarbua (Forskål, 1775) (teleostei, terapontidae) in malaysian waters

A background study is important for the conservation and stock management of a species. Terapon jarbua is a coastal Indo-Pacific species, sourced for human consumption. This study examined 134 samples from the central west and east coasts of Peninsular (West) Malaysia and East Malaysia. A 1446-bp concatenated dataset of mtDNA COI and Cyt b sequences was used in this study and 83 haplotypes were identified, of which 79 are unique haplotypes and four are shared haplotypes. Populations of T. jarbua in Malaysia are genetically heterogenous as shown by the high level of haplotype diversity ranging from 0.9167–0.9952, low nucleotide diversity ranging from 0.0288–0.3434, and high FST values (within population genetic variation). Population genetic structuring is not distinct as shown by the shared haplotypes between geographic populations and mixtures of haplotypes from different populations within the same genetic cluster. The gene flow patterns and population structuring observed among these regions are likely attributed to geographical distance, past historical events, allopatric speciation, dispersal ability and water currents. For instance, the mixture of haplotypes revealed an extraordinary migration ability of T. jarbua (>1200 km) via ancient river connectivity. The negative overall value of the neutrality test and a non-significant mismatch distribution are consistent with demographic expansion(s) in the past. The median-joining network concurred with the maximum likelihood haplotype tree with three major clades resolved. The scarcity of information on this species is an obstacle for future management and conservation purposes. Hence, this study aims to contribute information on the population structure, genetic diversity, and historical demography of T. jarbua in Malaysia

Phylogeographic structure of freshwater tor sp. in river basins of Sabah, Malaysia

We characterized the genetic diversity, phylogeography, and demography of Tor sp. (Cyprinidae) from Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, by examining nucleotide variation in the D‐loop region of the mtDNA. Sequence analysis of 18 populations (N = 173) yielded 35 unique mtDNA haplotypes with mean haplotype and nucleotide diversity of 0.833 and 0.023, respectively. Phylogenetic reconstructions using Bayesian, neighbor‐joining, and maximum parsimony methods, as well as haplotype network, revealed four well‐defined clades, namely, the eastern, central, northwestern, and southwestern clades, which corresponded to evolutionarily significant units (ESUs). These ESUs were estimated to have become separated since the late Miocene to Pliocene era (between 5 and 1 million years ago), with the central highlands of Sabah Crocker Trusmadi Range (CTR) constituting the main barrier to genetic exchange between clades. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) and pairwise genetic differentiation showed significant population structuring (Φct = 0.575–1.000, p < 0.05). We further identified eight major groups of river systems harboring reproductively isolated Tor subpopulations. Neutrality statistics and Bayesian skyline plots (BSP) suggested constant population size over time for most Tor populations. Tor sp. in Sabah is comprised of four ESUs (eastern, central, northwestern, and southwestern ESUs), and that each ESU can be compartmentalized into 1–4 MUs. Due to isolation by distance, the highest number of MU occurs in the low‐elevation drainages of Eastern Sabah, which is the largest in terms of land area. The evidence provided by this study supports the hypothesis that the four ESU represent genetically distinct subpopulations of Tor and highlight the urgent need for the in situ conservation of these subpopulations

Genetic diversity and population structure of Terapon jarbua (Forsk\ue5l, 1775) (Teleostei, Terapontidae) in Malaysian waters

Volume: 911Start Page: 139-16