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Fears of ecosystem imbalance raised over hybrid Sabah giant grouper in Hong Kong waters

Non-native fish species first bred in lab but now surviving in the wild could ‘pollute local gene pool’, experts say

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A juvenile Sabah giant grouper caught in North Point waters in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout

A fast-growing carnivorous fish that was originally bred in a laboratory could be invading Hong Kong waters, environmentalists have warned amid reports of juveniles being caught off the city’s coasts.

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The Sabah giant grouper, a hybrid species of the tiger and giant grouper, was crossbred to reduce overfishing of wild groupers for food.  

But experts said if the fish was allowed to proliferate, it could “pollute the native gene pool” and throw the ecosystem off balance – similar to the disastrous lion fish invasion of the Bahamas in 2004.

A Sabah giant grouper at a seafood stall in North Point Ferry Pier. Photo: May Tse
A Sabah giant grouper at a seafood stall in North Point Ferry Pier. Photo: May Tse 

In 2016, scientists from the Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) in Kota Kinabalu – where the first generation of the hybrid grouper species was bred in the mid-2000s – discovered that the fish could spawn in captivity.

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“No one can say for sure whether the Sabah giant grouper has successfully invaded Hong Kong waters. But if allowed to lay down roots and breed, it could very well become an invasive species,” said Dr Michelle Cheung Ma-shan, science manager at local research group Eco-education and Resources Centre. 

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