Article: Firm releases 1,300 fry by Sime Darby

Friday May 29, 2009

By FAZLEENA AZIZ

SOME 1,300 fry were released into the mangrove forest on Carey Island by Sime Darby Bhd recently.

It was the first attempt by Sime Darby, who released the fry at different spots suitable for their survival.

The move comes after 174 sign-ups were made on the Sime Darby environmental website to "Release a Fish" by April 30.

The species released included ikan parang (wolf-herring), ikan garupa (groupers) and ikan siakap (barramundi), which are commonly found and part of the ecosystem.

For survival: Sime Darby Plantations Sdn Bhd's head of corporate communications Amir Mahmood Abdul Razak releasing the fish.

The idea behind the exercise was aimed at creating an awareness on mangroves, which are found at the island.

Mangrove forests are a unique ecosystem generally found along sheltered coasts where they grow abundantly in saline soil and brackish water subject to periodic fresh- and salt-water inundation.

Sime Darby has even established a dedicated Mangrove Research Centre, which was one of the first in Malaysia.

It serves as the focal point for research, learning and public service activities.

Apart from the mangroves, there are vast palm oil estates and the Sime Darby Plantations Academy located on the island.

There are also barns for the owls to control the rat problem at the oil palm estate.

According to Sime Darby's environmental website, this method is used as it encourages a greater, healthier yield without resorting to environmentally damaging methods.

As part of its continuous environmental effort, Sime Darby practises zero discharge and zero waste with a lot of recycling including turning waste into compost at the island.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Metro: North 30 May 2009