Natural heritage under threat of extinction saved by hobbyists 
By Rosli Zakaria MY Source: Straits Times 3/22/2022
Rosli Zakaria
Credit: NSTP/ courtesy of Dr Zahar Azuar Zakaria
MUAR: Six friends could have easily earned more than RM30,000 each, but their love of nature saw them forgo monetary profit and return their homebred endangered Betta Persephone specimens to the wild.

Betta Persephone is listed under the IUCN red list and is endemic to a small pocket of peat swamp in east Johor.

Under the tutelage of citizen scientist Mohd Ilham Norhakim Lokman, the six friends managed to save a few specimens in its natural habitat, which is an oil palm plantation.

The friends come from different backgrounds – a practising doctor, an engineer, a fishmonger, a matriculation student and an aquarium fish trader.
 

Together with Ilham Norhakim, they ventured into a project funded using their savings with no guarantee that the tank raised fry of the Betta Persephone would survive.
"It was a trial with nNatural heritage under threat of extinction saved by hobbyistso high hopes on the fish surviving outside its habitat. The water perimeter needs to be precise at ph3.6," Ilham Norhakim told the New Straits Times.

"We need to save this critically endangered species which can only be found in one location in the world and it is in Johor. Sadly, its habitat is now gone.

 
Continue...

News Id SourceStampcountry
1876Invasive goldfish the size of footballs are spreading from Vancouver to other parts of B.C.CBC News2023-03-03CA
1877Experts pushing for high-seas fishing ban win ‘Nobel Prize for environment’mongabay2023-02-22US
1878Lost at sea: The hidden cost of ghost gearfrance242023-02-24FR
1879Bangladesh bans suckermouth catfish in light of threats to native fish speciesmongabay2023-02-23ID
188016-crew tuna fishing vessel missing in Indian oceanfleetmon2023-02-24TW
1881Customer urges people to buy miserable fishkentlive2023-02-24UK
1882Fish tested in two Michigan rivers contain ‘forever chemicals’, harmful on consumptionNew Delhi2023-02-25US
1883More than 43K aquatic creatures estimated to have been killed by derailmentfox82023-02-23US
188458 million salmon died in Norwegian fish farms last yearsciencenorway2023-02-24NO
1885Cuyahoga River tributary West Creek to become more fish friendlycleveland2023-02-11US
1886Scripps Oceanography researchers discover new species of deep-sea fishlajollalight2023-02-12CR
1887Anglers brave the cold to chase big fish in Grand Countykunc2023-03-13US
1888tuna fisheries clash over Indian Ocean temporary ban on driftnetsFox News2023-03-01KE
1889Ade Alakija: the man who took Nigeria's catfish sector to a new levelthefishsite2023-03-15NG
1890Environmentalists: Maine Dam Operator Not Protecting SalmonAssociated Press2023-03-06US
1891Ecosystem Restoration Project Proposed for Mississippi RiverAssociated Press2023-03-10US
1892Post-Wildfire Conditions Result in Poor Recovery for FishAssociated Press2023-03-10US
1893How This Little See-Through Fish Gets Its Rainbow ShimmerAssociated Press2023-03-13TH
1894Особенности ловли в условиях сброса водыohotniki2023-03-11RU
1895New findings help explain fish diversity mysteryfuturity2023-02-14US
1896'Most expensive fish ever in my life': Woman tries $1,000 river fish in Malaysiaasiaone2023-02-17SG
18975-year-old Pine girl teams with pet fish to take gold at Betta Winter Olympicstriblive2023-02-17UK
1898Brave fishermen free shark tangled in fishing line and hooks on WA coast9news2023-03-10AU
1899Lake Champlain ice fishing tournament canceled after 3 fishermen die due to thin lake icecnn2023-02-12US
1900Extremely rare golden largemouth bass caught in Virginia rivercbsnews2023-02-16US

215 216 217 75 of [218 - pages.]