By Mohd Kamal Ahmad

THE acrobatic jump is the moment every sailfish and marlin hunter looks forward to. They are willing to spend a lot money and efforts to watch its dance performance. They come from as far away as Australia, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Austria, Switzerland, Canada and the United States to Rompin, Pahang with one desire – to catch sailfish and record the moment the dancing queen dances acrobatic style while trying to escape from the hook that catches its mouth.

Rompin waters are among the best sailfish fishing locations in the world. The number of billfish is indeed a lot compared to other waters. It can be fished almost all year round but it is reported that the number is higher between June and October. Although it is classified to be a migratory fish, it is not known why there are so many of them in Rompin waters.

“There is no other place in the world like Rompin. Within a few minutes the bait is released, it will be attacked by sailfish. Elsewhere, anglers may only land one sailfish a day. My best record fishing on Rompin since 1983 was landing 35 sailfish in a day.

Sailfish caught by an angler in Rompin waters

“If we don’t take care of this gold (sailfish), it will be gone (it will become extinct). Fishing is a multi-billion ringgit industry worldwide but we still do not pay attention to this fishing sport product that is loved by anglers from all over the world,” said Major (B) Ismail Feisol, the country’s professional angler and former President of the Malaysian Fishing Association (PeMM).

But does Rompin sailfish have a future? How do people value it? Can the species survive sustainably? Therefore, the answer to all these questions is that the government needs to create regulations and acts to fish, protect and preserve the species.

“The reason is that the fish is categorised as a vulnerable species based on the ruling of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This fish is threatened with extinction unless the factors interfering with its reproduction improve.

“Since this fish is a migratory species and has certain migration routes (one of which is Pahang’s coastal waters), certain measures need to be taken to ensure its sustainability in the waters of the east coast of the Peninsula,” said Dr Aimimuliani Adam, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Marine Science, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).

She said IIUM’s research on the species was motivated by their sense of social responsibility to contribute expertise and knowledge for the benefit of the local community by helping to ensure the sustainability of sailfish resources in Pahang.

The scope of Dr. Aimimuliani’s research is fish biology; genetic profiling; hydrodynamic modeling; human consumption; as well as regulation and management.

Due to the lack of regulations in the sport of fishing and the act to protect it, sailfish in Rompin are often lured. The species in Malaysia is sold at an unreasonable price of RM3.50 per kilogram to be processed and made into crackers or RM20 for a bowl of fish ball soup. However, the actual value reaches hundreds of thousands of ringgit if the species is declared as a gamefish with fishing regulations such as practising the concept of ‘catch and release’ as well as acts that protect its survival.

Cost for a one-day fishing trip in the waters of Karang Tok Rahmat, Karang DO, Karang Kerek and Batu Berhala is between RM1,800 to RM2,500 for a boat with twin 150 horsepower engines. Typically, a boat is rented for three or four anglers. It is estimated that more than 40 fishing boats operate around Rompin and Pekan. Imagine how big the contribution of this sailfish is in generating income for boat operators in Pahang every day.

According to Dr Aimimuliani, she and her team’s monitoring at the Kuantan LKIM Fish Landing Complex found that 30 sailfish were recorded from March to December 2021. There was an increase in the number of catches from March to April but a decrease from November and December. However, no data was recorded from June to October during the enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In 2022, the highest record landing of sailfish was recorded in April and the number continued to decrease until July. However, no landings of cruise fish were recorded at the Kuala Rompin LKIM Jetty and Endau LKIM Jetty throughout 2021 and 2022,” she said.

Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Maznah Mazlan, former Pahang State Tourism Exco said: “God gives a beautiful creature in abundance compared to other places where it may take days to get one. Thus, a special grant to be made available for more research. This initiative also needs corporate organisations to support a promotion and providing satellite tagging and also conservation work.”

According to her, the state government needs to look at the potentials and start a plan to build an angling industry by providing a support for locals to participate in businesses such as fishing boat operator, being a guide, managing transport, selling fishing equipment and providing the necessary facilities.

“Rompin could be the only place with a training school in the region that provides a certified and internationally recognised angling competency and other related skills in boat maintenance and jetty management etc,” she said.

Maznah also proposed the establishment of a structured body to protect, monitor and develop fishing in addition to ensuring the sustainability of sailfish. The body can also implement and consolidate related research and development (R&D) results.

” It is under the auspices of the state or central government and is led by influential individuals and experts in this field. This step is able to adjust actions and efforts to preserve the sustainability of the Rompin sailfish stock as well as the development of the country’s fishing industry,” she said when chairing the Pahang Fisheries Development Forum in conjunction with the Royal Pahang Billfish International Challenge (RPBIC) 2022 organised by the Pahang Marine Life Conservation Association (MALCONS) and Tourism Pahang in Rompin, recently.

Thus, with the consent of His Majesty the Sultan of Pahang to grant ‘Royal’ status to the RPBIC in 2004, the event should trigger inspiration and awareness for the government to do something to conserve sailfish for long-term sustainability not only in Rompin but in waters all over the country.

Munir Kasman Abdul Hamid, Chairman of MALCONS as manager of the 2019 edition of RPBIC and organiser of RPBIC 2022 said: “Without billfish in Rompin, there will be no RPBIC,” while describing the RPBIC as a strategic platform to promote the conservation of beaked fish which is very important for the continuation of the competition and further the economic generation of the Rompin community.

In moving forward, some reminders and recommendations were presented at the Pahang Fisheries Development Forum in conjunction with RPBIC 2022 recently. Among them, the main threat to sailfish is trawling activities. Therefore, its activities need to be banned in certain waters in Rompin by announcing it as a billfish fishing zone in line with the pure mission of preserving the Rompin sailfish dance performance.

Research on sailfish taking place in an IIUM laboratory

Main Pix: A beautiful sailfish caught in Rompin waters.