Sarawak comprises of vast areas of
wetland which is the habitat of huge number of edible gastropods. Among the
wetland faunal composition, the edible gastropod is one of the important
sources of animal protein for the local communities. This diversity of edible
gastropod was studied from seven Divisions of Sarawak namely Kuching, Sibu,
Mukah, Bintulu, Miri, Limbang and Lawas ( Figure 1 ). Samples were collected
from the wet market and catches from local fishermen. A total of 21 species
representing 11 families and 16 genera of edible gastropods were identified
from Sarawak ( Table 1, Figure 2 ) . Cerithidea spp. was represented by three
species while both Nerita and Pomacea were made up of three and two species
each. Others were each represented by one single species. Six edible gastropod
species belonged to the freshwater habitat while seven and eight species were
recorded from brackish and marine habitats, respectively. Cerithidea and
Pomacea showed wide geography amongst the Division and also highly distributed.
Edible gastropods have high market value in the state of Sarawak and contribute
significantly to the livelihoods of the certain indigenous communities in the
state.
H.
Hamli, M.H. Idris, M.K. Abu Hena, S.K. Wong and A. Arshad, 2013. Checklist and Habitat Descriptions of
Edible Gastropods from Sarawak, Malaysia. Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic
Science, 8: 412-418.
