COCKLE breeding is a multi-million-ringgit industry in Malaysia. At its peak in 2005, it produced 100,000 tonnes of the molluscs for local consumption and export.
Often found in char koay teow, curry noodles and “lok lok’“stalls, cockles add to the dish the flavour of the sea that some would describe as a metallic tang.
Kuala Sepetang was once the largest cockle-breeding grounds in Malaysia. Cockle farmers here used to earn RM5000 to RM6000 a month, harvesting up to more than 28,000 tonnes of cockles a year. These days, the harvest has dropped to less than 7,000 tonnes a year.
Many farmers have turned to other forms of aquaculture for fish and prawns, or ferrying tourists on their boats as eco-tourism grows in Kuala Sepetang.
Those who have stuck to cockle farming have to be contented with smaller yields. Some have resorted to harvesting the bivalves early, while they are the size of a five sen coin even though they fetch better prices when they have reached the size of a 50 sen coin or larger.
Pollutants in the water believed to be from discharge of raw sewage, aquaculture and open rubbish dumps are some of the main causes of the dwindling harvests. There is also fear of Hepatitis A contamination.
Regular monitoring of the water quality in the cockle farms is essential for the production of healthy, adult cockles. – September 30, 2018.
Workers clean cockles of dirt and mud at a processing factory in Kuala Sepetang in Perak. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, September 30, 2018.An aerial view of the Kuala Sepetang fishing village in Perak. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, September 30, 2018.Fishing boats leave Kuala Sepetang in Perak. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, September 30, 2018.Baskets of cockles are processed at a centre in Kuala Sepetang in Perak. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, September 30, 2018.Workers give the shellfish a good rinse, in Kuala Sepetang in Perak. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, September 30, 2018.Kuala Sepetang produces about 7,000 tonnes of cockles a year. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, September 30, 2018.Baskets of cleaned shellfish are ready for the market, at a cockle processing factory in Kuala Sepetang, Perak. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, September 30, 2018.Freshly harvested cockles are hosed down before they are unloaded. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, September 30, 2018.Once a thriving, million ringgit industry, cockle breeding is a less profitable business these days for farmers, thanks to water pollution in Kuala Sepetang in Perak. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, September 30, 2018.A boat speeds past the Kuala Sepetang fishing village in Perak at dawn. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, September 30, 2018.The sun rises over the Matang mangrove forest in Kuala Sepetang in Perak. – The Malaysian Insight pic by David ST Loh, September 30, 2018.
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