More laws needed to protect sharks

source pic:http://wildaid.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/what-is-shark-finning-infographic/

SAHABAT Alam Malaysia (SAM) notes with concern the views by fishermen and restaurant operators who are opposed to the shark ban in Sabah.


He against the amendment to the Fisheries Act 1985 to make shark fishing illegal.

But it has to be recognised that one cannot fish for sharks at the rate that other fish are harvested – using industrial methods of fishing which may be either large scale purse seine, trawl, otter trawl, gill nets, or small scale hook and line and longline, gill/drift net, and traps or other traditional gear – without a population decline in the species.

Considering the extension of the area and the expansion of deep sea trawl fishing, the shark resource may have been fully exploited, or close to it, as sharks are frequently caught as incidental by-catch in fisheries directed at other species, such as tuna.

Sharks which are priced for their fins are the main target species of longline fishermen in Sabah and Sarawak where they are mainly caught in trawls and drift nets, depending on the locality and season.

Fisheries in East Malaysia may involve a large number of small artisanal fishing boats employing a diversity of fishing gear in addition to the many unlicensed boats and gear and part-time fishermen.

The question of whether there is an on-site catch monitoring by fisheries officials and an accurate estimate of the abundance of sharks in the region is essential, in order to determine the reliability of the by-catch estimates and the sustainability of the incidental catches in fisheries.

At present, there are no fisheries statistics on the estimated by-catch rates on sharks. There is no recent research on the impact of current harvests on shark levels, and little knowledge of their stock status.

Improved information capture at the point of landing by fisheries monitors and fisheries control officers is required to improve the quality of the data.

Whether caught as by-catch or as targeted species, few controls are in place to limit the harvest levels of all sharks in East Malaysia waters, and it is unclear whether the current levels of extraction are sustainable for all or certain shark species.

Regulation and protection for sharks cannot occur without volumes of data over years proving that it is required.

Even then, attempts to protect a threatened species or to lower quotas, even when based on solid scientific data, are almost invariably vigorously opposed by fishing and business community.

Currently there are no laws that protect sharks from fishing in the open seas and few countries have adequate laws to protect sharks from over-fishing.

Sharks are over-fished primarily for two reasons: the high demand for their fins, with a few species also valued for their meat and, secondly, a slow reproductive rate compared with other types of fish.

Some countries have banned shark fishing within waters they control. But the following countries/states have banned shark fishing entirely: Congo-Brazza-ville, French Polynesia (except for mako sharks), Israel, Republic of the Maldives, Palau, Honduras (moratorium) and the US state of Hawaii.

More laws are needed to protect sharks. Little by little, more protection of shark are being proposed and passed throughout the world.

The call by Sabah’s Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Datuk Masidi Manjun, to protect its shark population is a step in the right direction, and SAM urges him to stand firm in his decision to ban shark fishing.

S.M. MOHD IDRIS,

President,

Sahabat Alam Malaysia.



Article Source http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/5/10/focus/11260837&sec=focus
and http://selangorhijau.wordpress.com/2012/05/16/more-laws-are-needed-to-protect-sharks/

Buying an Efficient Light bulb

http://www.cupboardsonline.com/2012/04/buying-efficient-light-bulb.html

Commercial wind energy generation may be possible after all

When talking about commercially producing energy from renewable sources in Malaysia, wind would come last, or even none at all. This is due to the fact that the country has low wind speed.

Malaysia’s mean annual wind speed is not more than 2 metre per second, when minimum 6 metre per second is needed to spin a wind turbine. Plus, wind speed varies according to month and region, making it an unreliable source for energy generation.

However, the lack of good and consistent wind speed are not obstacles to a Universiti Malaya professor.

Dr Chong Wen Tong, who has always been interested in finding a reliable wind source for energy generation, may have found the answer. Around three years ago, he developed a wind energy recovery system from air exhaust outlet – those great fans usually located on top of commercial buildings for air-conditioning.

The system comprised of two vertical axis wind turbines placed above an exhaust outlet in a cross-wind orientation and mounted at a specific height above the exhaust outlet to avoid creating negative performance to the exhaust air system. The system is also equipped with guide vanes to guide the wind to an optimum angle to spin the blades, as well as an augmentation diffuser, which has been shown to improve performance of the wind turbine.

He created the system since air exhaust outlet will give the strong and consistent wind needed, with the aim to recover a portion of the energy generated.

“A good air speed to generate energy is in the range of seven to 13 metres per second and exhaust air creates wind of around 11 metres per second, thus creating a strong and consistent wind,” Chong said.

Testing conducted with the help of the project’s industrial partner, Truwater Cooling Towers Sdn Bhd, which is also a local cooling tower manufacturer, showed that not only the system does not negatively affect the performance of the exhaust, it also re-captures around 13% of the energy created by the motor to spin the exhaust fan.

Chong explained that an air exhaust usually uses a 7.5-kilowatt (kW) motor to spin the exhaust fan and a wind turbine generates around 0.5 kilowatt of energy.

“As the system uses two wind turbines, the energy generated is around 1kW, which shows the system recovers 13% of the energy used to power the motor,” he said.

He added that for the system to work, the wind turbines’ speed has to be faster than the air speed of the exhaust.

And the turbines do spin faster at around 881 revolutions per minute (RPM). In comparison, a 3-blade ceiling fan at your home spins at high speed on average 260 RPM. As a safety measure, the system comes with an enclosure to protect maintenance workers as well as protect others should there be a blade failure.

“The system has a great marketing value since there are many cooling towers as well as other unnatural exhaust air resources around the world,” Chong said.

Plus the capacity factor is quite high, with the exhaust operating in about 16 hours per day (in accordance to operating hours of a building).

The system can be custom-made to fit varying size of exhaust air sources, with the energy generated can be channelled back into the electricity grid or used for commercial purposes.

For the next phase, Chong wants to position the blade into V-shape instead of the current flat-shape… “Much like the wings of an airplane,” he said.

Chong also plans to commercialise the system via Truwater Cooling Towers.

source: http://alampost.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=373:commercial-wind-energy-generation-may-be-possible-after-all&catid=67:energy&Itemid=392

TNB sets aside RM9.7bil to raise generating capacity

HULU TERENGGANU: Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) will spend about RM9.7bil in the next five years to increase electricity generating capacity in Malaysia.


President/chief executive officer Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh said that a major portion of the investment until 2017 was to build several power stations whose locations had been identified.

Among the stations under construction are the Manjung Sultan Azlan Shah Power Station in Perak (RM6bil), a hydroelectric power plant in Hulu Terengganu (RM1.6bil) and Hulu Jelai in Pahang (RM2.1bil).

An independent power producer plans to build a coal-fired plant in Tanjung Bin, Johor, costing RM6bil and it is slated for completion in 2016.

“This means in the next five years, the new projects will give TNB additional generation capacity of 2,000 MW using coal and 630 MW using hydro.

“On average, TNB spends almost RM2bil annually to generate power for the country, and this doesn’t include other projects such as shipments and so on,” Che Khalib told reporters at the Terengganu river water diversion ceremony for the Hulu Terengganu hydroelectric project yesterday.

Che Khalib said TNB’s generating capacity currently was 20,000 MW, with 12,000 MW using gas, 7,000 MW coal and 1,500 MW hydro.

He said the Hulu Terengganu hydro project, expected to be completed end-2015, would be able to generate 250 MW. — Bernama

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/5/1/business/11207503&sec=business#1335841246484179&if_height=797