Tagal at Sungai Moroli a tourist attraction
RANAU: Tagal, a way of conserving the aquatic life of the river that has been passed down from generation to generation by the people of Sabah, is effective not only in conserving the environment, but also in creating symbiosis by providing a sustainable food supply for the people.
Our river is always well taken care of because of the implementation of the tagal system. It is clean and unpolluted, making it safe for river life.
— Noorhayati Asri, Sungai Moroli Tagal chairperson
Through ‘tagal’, also known as ‘bonbon’, fishing activities in the river are controlled according to three zones by the villagers, namely the Red Zone where fishing is prohibited, the Green Zone where fishing is allowed once in a certain period, and the Yellow Zone which is an open fishing area.
This natural resource management system is still widely practised in villages and rural areas including in Sungai Moroli in Kampung Luanti, turning the village into a tourist attraction.
Under the tagal system, monitoring of the rivers is done by members of a committee set up in the respective villages.
Their task included ensuring no one trespass to carry out fishing activities in the rivers, and stern action would be taken against anyone caught doing so.
Sungai Moroli Tagal chairperson Noorhayati Asri said the committee was first established in 2004 by the late Jeffrin Majangki, in response to the ‘Love Our Rivers’ campaign back then.
Noorhayati, 51, said the tagal was originally meant to conserve the river and ensure its sustainability, but with time, it had become an attraction for tourists.
“The river has become a popular place for fish massage.
This is because the ‘kelah’ fish in the river would gather at the standing area for visitors, who are barefooted, and they can feel the soles of their feet ‘massaged’ by the fish.
“There is a fish called ‘buntol’, believed can help to treat psoriasis, which is a type of skin disease, by sucking on the part of the skin that has the problem,” she said.
According to Noorhayati, the village has been attracting more than 100 tourists a month because of the ‘fish massage’.
“Our river is always well taken care of because of the implementation of the tagal system.
“It is clean and unpolluted, making it safe for river life,” she said, adding that several rest houses hadbeen built in the area for the tourists.
Fees per person of RM10 for foreign tourists, RM5 for local tourists and RM2 for children, are charged for those visiting the tagal system at Sungai Moroli, located at the foot of Mount Kinabalu and about 125km from Kota Kinabalu.
Aireen Anastasia Jacob, 52, a teacher from Sandakan, said Sungai Moroli had become a mandatory stop for her family on their way to Kota Kinabalu.
“There is also a room for us to stay for the night. It’s a nice place to rest, the place is calm.
“It is also an opportunity for our children to learn about river fish. The fish are tame, children can hold and play with them, so it’s fun.”
Albert Kerk, 41, a chef from Macau, was fascinated by the uniqueness of the tagal system at Sungai Moroli and how it had sustained the river life, and also of humans, through an effective symbiosis system.
“I found this place on Facebook and I’m really curious because as a Chinese chef, freshwater fish is a very important ingredient in our cooking, especially the ‘mahseer’ (kelah fish) here.
“To see how this fish is cultivated and taken care of by generations of the community is really exciting,” he said. — Bernama