Parasite Assemblage, Prevalence and Zoonotic Potential in the Spotfin Bigeye Priacanthus tayenus from the South China Sea, East-Coast Peninsular Malaysia

Suhairi Mazelan (Higher Institution Centre of Excellence, Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries (HICoE-AKUATROP), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Terengganu, Malaysia)
Faizah Shaharom (Faculty of Marine Science and Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Terengganu, Malaysia)
Wahidah Wahab (Higher Institution Centre of Excellence, Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries (HICoE-AKUATROP), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Terengganu, Malaysia)
Muhammad Hafiz Borkhanuddin (Faculty of Marine Science and Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Terengganu, Malaysia/Institute of Oceanography and Environment (INOS), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Terengganu, Malaysia)
Nor Asma Husna Mohammed Yusoff (Higher Institution Centre of Excellence, Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries (HICoE-AKUATROP), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Terengganu, Malaysia/Food Security Research Cluster, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia)
Sharifah Raina Manaf (Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Sarawak Branch, Mukah Campus, Sarawak, Malaysia)
Norazizah Kemat (Department of Fisheries, Kuantan Biosecurity Centre, Pahang, Malaysia)
Nora Faten Afifah Mohamad (Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Sarawak Campus, Sarawak, Malaysia)
Ruhil Hayati Hamdan (Department of Paraclinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), Kelantan, Malaysia)
Melissa B. Martin (Faculty of Marine Science and Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Terengganu, Malaysia/Institute of Oceanography and Environment (INOS), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Terengganu, Malaysia)
Mazlan Abd Ghaffar (Higher Institution Centre of Excellence, Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries (HICoE-AKUATROP), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Terengganu, Malaysia/Faculty of Marine Science and Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Ter)
Ahmad Shuhaimi Draman (Higher Institution Centre of Excellence, Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries (HICoE-AKUATROP), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Terengganu, Malaysia)
Khor Waiho (Higher Institution Centre of Excellence, Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries (HICoE-AKUATROP), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Terengganu, Malaysia/Food Security Research Cluster, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia)
Shengkang Li (STU-UMT Joint Shellfish Research Laboratory, Shantou University, Guangdong, P.R. China/Marine Biology Institute, Science Center, Shantou University, Guangdong P.R. China)
Yenni Putri Sari (1Laboratory of Fisheries, Marine Science Study Program, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Bengkulu, Bengkulu, Indonesia.)
Mohd Ihwan Zakariah (Higher Institution Centre of Excellence, Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries (HICoE-AKUATROP), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Terengganu, Malaysia/Food Security Research Cluster, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia)

SRIWIJAYA JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENT
Vol. 11 No. 1 (2026): Sriwijaya Journal of Environment

Background: Marine capture fisheries are central to food security in Southeast Asia, yet commercially harvested fish can harbour parasites of ecological and public-health significance. Objective: To characterise the parasite assemblage of the spotfin bigeye Priacanthus tayenus from the South China Sea off east-coast Peninsular Malaysia (Terengganu) and to benchmark the zoonotic and quality-relevant taxa against seafood-safety standards. Methods: Fifty wild-caught fish (total length 13.3 ± 2.1 cm) were examined by standard parasitological post-mortem; parasites were slide-mounted and identified morphologically. Infection and diversity indices, a chi-square test, Spearman correlations, a Welch t-test and principal component analysis (PCA) were computed; α = 0.05. Results: A total of 365 specimens of ten taxa (six ectoparasite and four endoparasite groups) were recovered. The anisakid nematode Hysterothylacium sp. dominated (177 specimens; 48.5% relative dominance; 60% prevalence) and Didymozoon sp.1 was most prevalent (62%). Prevalence differed among taxa (χ² = 130.47, df = 9, p < 0.001) and correlated strongly with abundance (ρ = 0.939, p < 0.001). Diversity was moderate (Shannon H' = 1.327; Berger–Parker d = 0.485) and PC1 explained 94.0% of the infection-parameter variance. Conclusion: Visible zoonotic anisakid larvae and trypanorhynch cestodes conflict with the visible-parasite provisions of EU Regulation (EC) 853/2004, underscoring the need for candling, evisceration, freezing and routine surveillance to safeguard seafood safety and food security in this fishery.