Malaysia’s ‘fish hunters’ target invasive species, one catch at a time

Syuhaily Hasibullah, a member of Malaysia's foreign fish hunter squad, holding an invasive African catfish, just netted from the Klang River in Puchong, Malaysia, in February 2025 [Patrick Lee/Al Jazeera]

Puchong, Malaysia – On a recent Sunday morning, about a dozen men with fishing nets skirted the rubbish-strewn banks of the Klang River just outside the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.

Surveying the river, the men cast their nets into the polluted water. The nets billowed open and sunk quickly under the weight of metal chains.