PUTRAJAYA – Sg Besar Umno division chief Datuk Seri Jamal Md Yunos pulled a stunt by roasting cockles outside Wisma Tani yesterday in an effort to highlight the theft of cockle spats in Pantai Sg Leman, Sekinchan, Selangor.
Prior to his stunt, he handed over a memorandum to the Fisheries Department at Wisma Tani regarding the theft of cockle spats in the area, which he claims has been ongoing for the past three weeks, allegedly perpetrated by a group of foreigners.
When met by the media after handing over the memorandum to special aide to Fisheries Department Director-General Mohd Azhar Mohd Zin, Jamal expressed hope that the Fisheries Department will increase monitoring at the beach area, including conducting combined patrols with the Marine Police and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.
The Fisheries Department provided feedback in a statement regarding the memorandum, stating that it has conducted three operations against the illegal gathering of cockle spats from natural cockle beds in Selangor throughout last month and early this year.
"The department also does not allow anyone to gather cockle spats from any natural cockle beds, including fishermen and breeders using any technique if they are unlicenced,” the statement read.
The department welcomed the suggestions in the memorandum, stating that it will always conduct patrols and monitor on both land and sea to curb the theft of cockle spats, in addition to conducting joint enforcement actions with other enforcement agencies.
The Fisheries Department also said that it will support investigations into any reports of wrongdoing by its personnel regarding the theft of cockle spats if there is evidence. – Bernama, January 6, 2021
