Peninsular Malaysia lies at a junction of two great oceans, the Pacific and the Indian Oceans. On the east, the South China Sea meets the Pacific Oceans, while on the west, the relatively narrow Straits of Malacca links with the Indian Ocean through the Andaman Sea. The marine fauna and flora have affinities to both these oceans. The Sunda Shelf, located around Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatera, Borneo and Java, os one of the world’s largest continental shelf, and the largest in the tropics. With a mean sea surface temperature of 28°C, it is conducive for the mangrove and coral reef ecosystems which are uniques to the tropical and subtropical areas. According to Sharp (1988), the region has the highest catch potential of demersal fish in the world but is second toPeru for pelagic fish. The Indo-West Pacific region is rich in biodiversity and is known to contain the highest diversity of marine life in the world. The mangrove forests have about 60 species of trees compared with the Americas with only 1- species. The coral reefs are said to have the greatest species assemblage in the world, with more than 50 genera of about 700 species, compared with the Carribbean with only 26 genera with less than 100 species. Thus, the region is recognised as a centre for species diversity (Briggs, 1974).

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