Stories

It was late at night when the first umbrella traps, locally known as Bubu Payung, were pulled out of the water. Oohs and aahs filled the air as PFP Peat Ranger Abdul Rashid Bin Md Jamil poured dozens of Australian Redclaw Crayfish onto the asphalt under the illumination of headlamps and torchlights. The PFP Peat Rangers and researchers who organised the event smiled along as villagers jostled for space to look at and take videos of the scuttling catch, but they were far from happy.

“This is bad news,” Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia Associate Professor, Ts Dr Muhammad Abdul Latiff Bin Abu Bakar told us later on, “Last year, we caught just under 200 crayfish after leaving the traps in the water for 7 hours. Tonight, we caught over 1,000 after just 2 hours.”

Umbrella traps are placed in strategic locations along the Ayer Hitam waterways to trap the invasive Australian Redclaw Crayfish

Beautiful but dangerous, Australian Redclaw Crayfish are an invasive species in Ayer Hitam, Johor, Malaysia. They were imported for breeding as ornamental shellfish in the 1990s because of their colourful appearance, but are believed to have escaped from breeding farms or private aquariums due to flooding. They have no natural predators in the peat waters of Ayer Hitam and terrorise the local underwater wildlife population.

Australian Redclaw Crayfish, locally known as Udang Kara,
are apex predators in Ayer Hitam’s waterways by virtue of being an invasive species.

“The people here don’t think they’re a problem, but the crayfish eat everything, especially the endemic species in this area, and they breed extremely quickly,” said Mohd Ilham Norhakim bin Lokman, a PFP Peat Ranger and Citizen Ichthyologist, “Since they appeared, most of the endemic fish and original fish species have decreased in number. So we want to educate the villagers that this crayfish should not be here and must be removed.”

Part of the reason for the urgency is that Ayer Hitam is the gateway to Johor’s Last Jewel of the South - the Ayer Hitam Utara Forest Reserve (AHU). With an area of 3,797 hectares, AHU is Johor’s largest and last remaining peat swamp forest. It is also the only peat swamp forest recognised and protected as a Forest State Park in Peninsular Malaysia. Home to a diverse array of flora and fauna, such as the endemic and endangered Betta Persephone, white-handed gibbon, tapirs, and hornbills, AHU enjoys the protection of the dedicated Johor Forestry Department, the Ayer Hitam community, researchers, and NGOs.  

Nannophya Pygmaea, or Scarlet Dwarf Dragonfly, is one of the wildlife found in AHU. With a body length of only 17 mm, it is the smallest dragonfly species in Peninsular Malaysia, and one of the smallest in the world.

Based on the night’s catch, the crayfish have yet to enter AHU’s borders, but they’re getting nearer. “We’re conducting research right now to determine how quickly they will enter the forest. The plan is to prevent their entry by reducing their population in the waterways near the borders of AHU,” explained Mohd Ilham Norhakim.

Surrounded by plantations, cash crops, and human settlements, AHU faces a unique set of challenges, including encroachment and drainage to feed surrounding agriculture, leading to soil subsidence and peatland fires. As somebody who has experienced peatland fires herself, PFP Peat Ranger Syadaitaul Akhma Binti Jamri is vocal about keeping peatlands wet. 

“It was devastating. The fire came from my neighbour’s land and consumed my farm. It was my only source of income. If it went up in flames, my family and my children would go hungry,” recounted Syadaitul. Luckily, she reached out to Abdul Rashid, who came to the rescue with his fellow volunteer firefighters. It took them two weeks to extinguish the fires but inspired Syadaitul to dedicate herself to the cause, “Because I’ve experienced the devastation of a peatland fire, I never want anyone else to feel that way again.”

Humble and observant, Abdul Rashid is a pillar of his community, balancing his day job and duties as a volunteer firefighter as well as chairperson of the Seri Sempadan Nature Lovers Association. Along with the support of PFP Peat Ranger and community liaison, Mazlina Binti Mahat; Seri Sempadan village head, MD Hakim Bin Misdan; Ayer Hitam Province head, Tok Mohd Fauzi bin Tubi; and the backing of the Johor Forestry Department, the Ayer Hitam Utara Forest Reserve is well protected.

Dr Latiff and Ayer Hitam PFP Peat Rangers: Abdul Rashid, Mohd Ilham Norhakim, Syadaitul, and Mazlina.

Johor Forestry Department Deputy Director of Development, Tuan Ramlizauyahudin bin Mahli, believes it is important to treat AHU as a living lab and encourages researchers and nature lovers to explore the forest reserve in order to inspire conservation.