Out of a total marine fish production of 1,108,430 mt in Malaysia in 1995, 99,255 mt were landed in Sarawak and 166,460 mt in Sabah, out of which approximately 61,960 mt and 49,100 mt were demersal fish in the two areas respectively. Exploratory trawl fishing yielded a maximum catch per unit effort [CPUE] of 196 and 144 kg in the coastal waters of Sarawak. CPUE, during the pre- SW monsoon cruise, varied between 4.7 to 144 kg. The most common five species during this cruise were Ariomma indica, Priacanthus macracanthus, Saurida undosquamis, Upeneus moluccensis and Priacanthus tayenus. Loligo duvoucelli was also common in every haul. During the SW monsoon cruise, CPUE ranged widely from 3.5 - 196 kg/hr, out of which 31.48% - 90.11% were commercially valuable fishes [61.02% of the richest haul was composed of commercially valuable species].
Exploratory trawl fishing conducted by the Department of Fisheries of Thailand in the 10 - 100 m deep zone along the Sarawak coast yielded CPUE values ranging between 186 kg in 1968, 442 kg in 1969, 286 kg in 1970 and 214 kg in 1972, out of which 53% - 72% were commercially valuable species. Subsequent Malaysian surveys yielded average CPUE values of 210 kg in 1973, 200 kg in 1975, 149 kg in 1977, 142 kg in 1979, 154 kg in 1980 and 141.9 kg in 1981, out of which 47 - 73% were commercially valuable species. It is not clear whether the trend in lower catches during the latter phase is in any way related
to the degree of fishing efforts in the area, especially as the percentage of commercially valuable species in the catches remained more less the same throughout, which does not seem to indicate any overfishing trend. Particularly, the relatively low catches of 3.5 - 196 kg/hr during the current survey also does not give any clear indication of the trends, although the values obtained are considerably lower [almost one-fourth] of the averages obtained during the previous such exploratory surveys. Saurida undosquamis, Synodus hoshinonis, Fistularia spp., Seriolina nigrofasciata, Pentaprion longimanus, Nemipterus furcosus, Parupeneus cinnabarinus, Abalistes stellatus and Gymnocranius griseus were caught at almost every station. On the whole, highest catches were restricted to the southwestern corner of Sarawak coastline before the SW monsoon. During the SW monsoon, it was more spread out along the shallow coastal areas.
Exploratory trawl fishing conducted during the survey showed that CPUE fluctuated between 10.9 - 90.5 kg/hr, at an average of 50.2 kg/hr before the SW monsoon, and 3.5 - 194 kg/hr, at an average of 55.9 kg/hr during the SW monsoon [Fig. 20]. Catches during the pre-SW monsoon cruise were mainly composed of Nemipteridae [12.7%], Carangidae [8.7%], Mullidae [7.1%], Lutjanidae [4.9%] and Priacanthidae [2.2%], at an average of 34.4 kg [68.7%], with a maximum of 62.9 kg/hr fish of market value. The most common species were Loligo spp [5.7%], Nemipterus bathybius [4.2%], N. memurus [3.8%], Abalistes stellaris [4%], Upeneus moluccensis [3.8%], U. bensasi [2.4%], Gymnocranius griseus [3.2%], Carangoides malabaricus [3.2%] and Plectorhynchus pictus [3.1%]. During the SW monsoon cruise, 41.5% of the catches was trash fish [average CPUE, 23.3 kg], and 58.5% species of market
value [average, 32.6 kg, with a maximum of 119.3 kg/hr], which were composed mainly of Priacanthidae [14.1%], Nemipteridae [10.8%], Carangidae [5%], Lutjanidae [3.7%] and Mullidae [2.1%]. The most common species were Priacanthus macracanthus [13.2%], Nemipterus bathybius [3.3%], N. metamophorus [2.2%], Abalistes stellaris [2.8%] and Arius spp. [2.5%]. Trash fish registered an average catch rate of 15.7 kg/hr before the SW monsoon, dominated by Upeneus sulphureus, Pentaprion longimanus and Saurida spp. During the SW monsoon, trash fish averaged 23.3 kg/hr, with a maximum of 74.4 kg/hr, and was dominated by Pentaprion longimanus, Leiognathus spp., Upeneus spp. and Saurida micropectoralis
Total Allowable Catch [TAC], as defined under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, has the attainment and maintenance of the Maximum Sustainable Yield [MSY] level as one of its important goals. Using the average catch of selected major species in 1996 and 1997, MSY is estimated at 83,000 mt of pelagic fish and 31,000 mt of demersal fish for the survey area. Based on these estimates, the average catches during these two years were 22% and 51% of MSY for the two fish groups respectively. However, recent interpretations of this approach have suggested more conservative goals, the biological reference point of which should be less than MSY, such as 2/3 of this value applied in such countries as New Zealand. Similarly, more exploratory surveys are necessary in order to fully realize the significance of relatively large percentage of trash fish in the catches. This may not be readily taken as an indicator of overfishing, as the percentage of commercially valuable fish in the catches have not shown any significant decrease in the meantime.
