Fish Banned in China Eaten in Alarming Quantities in Semporna

This live Humphead Wrasse is being offered for sale in a noisy market where bargaining is part of the experience |  Photo by Lee Kwai Han

In an article for NYSEAN Partner, Macaranga, Kwai Han Lee writes about how Chinese tourists are consuming Humphead Wrasse—valued but banned in China—at a rate that is concerning to conservationists.

Chung is a marine biologist at the Institut Marin Borneo, Universiti Malaysia Sabah. She discovered this live seafood market in Semporna 2 years ago. She also discovered that the market had become a quintessential Semporna tourist attraction for Chinese tourists.

However, she is concerned about the number of threatened species being sold.

One species that stands out for her is the fish in the seller’s hand: the Humphead Wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus). Also known as the Napoleon Wrasse, and locally in Sabah as mameng, this largest of wrasses is a luxury item in Chinese cuisine in Hong Kong and mainland China.

Overexploitation for trade led to its listing as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as far back as 2004. Its sale has been banned in China since 2021.

But it is available in Semporna, and Chinese tourists have taken note of this with the help of social media, much to Chung’s alarm.