Fishes of Empire: Imperialism and ichthyological introductions in British Malaya, 1923–42

Abstract

The cultural, technological, and socioeconomic dimensions of exotic animal introductions into the Malayan Peninsula have largely escaped the notice of scholars of British Malaya. At the same time, the scientific literature on exotic ichthyological introductions into Malaya has framed such introductions in largely biological terms. Biological factors alone, however, cannot explain the introduction and cultivation of exotic (sometimes temperate) fishes in tropical Malayan waters. Between 1923 and 1942, the Fisheries Department of the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States experimented with introducing three categories of exotic fishes into the Malayan Peninsula. These fishes—the sepat siam, Chinese carp and English trout—were reared and released into demographic and geographical landscapes profoundly shaped by imperial power. These animals were thus ‘fishes of Empire’, their introduction and cultivation in the Malayan Peninsula significantly influenced by the scientific, socioeconomic, technological, and cultural contexts of the British Empire. Studying the places, peoples, and technologies that shaped (and were in turn shaped by) these fishes of Empire offers insights into the intersections of imperial power, colonial science, and environmental history.