Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan said a preliminary examination conducted by the department found that the sharks shown in the pictures shared on Facebook and reported by the media were not included in the list of endangered species.
Kitingan said there were about 10 types of stingrays from the Mobula genus listed as endangered species under Malaysia’s International Trade in Endangered Species Act 2008.“Thirteen species are listed as endangered under the Fisheries Act 1985 and the International Trade in Endangered Species Act 2008, which cannot be caught and exported,” he said.
Kitingan, who is the state Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Minister, said the department had always taken the necessary and appropriate steps to protect endangered fish species through the enforcement of the Fisheries Act 1985 and the International Trade in Endangered Species Act 2008.