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KUALA LUMPUR – The decrease in fish sightings, especially in the northern part of the peninsula, which has caused the price of fish in the market to soar distinctly and raised concerns of the National Fishermen’s Association (Nekmat), is not a new issue.
A source from the Fisheries Department told The Vibes’ sister portal, Getaran, that the issue began in 2015 and has been a concern since.
She said the issue has protracted, and it’s not just due to unpredictable weather, as alleged.
“Actually, this has been happening since 2015 and what is worrying us is that the frequency is decreasing due to the large number of catches every year.
“This ‘greed’ has caused it to decrease drastically, especially in the coastal sea, and one of the main factors is unreported and unregulated fishing activities, which is illegal fishing.
“In fact, some fishermen in zone C took the advantage by fishing in zone A and B, causing it to be out of hand,” the source told Getaran.
Previously, Nekmat said the sighting of fish, especially in the north of the peninsula had decreased by up to 70%.
It dropped from a million tonnes to approximately 300,000 tonnes a month due to uncertain weather over the past two months.
Its chairman Abdul Hamid Bahari said the lack of fish supply had also caused prices of fish in the market to soar.
This situation, Hamid said, had caused woes to fishermen following the decline in their earnings.
In relation to the crisis, he said, fish such as small-sized mackerels are being sold at RM12 to RM14 per kg, compared to between RM3 to RM4 previously.
When asked about claims that deep-sea fishing (zone C) is spearheaded by foreign fishermen, the source did not deny such allegations, but refused to divulge more details on the matter.
The source said that the Fisheries Department can only reveal the 2020 Fish Sighting Report, as it has not received the confirmation from its director-general for the 2021 and 2022 report details and information.
Based on the 2020 report, it is apparent that fish sightings are declining due to uncontrolled fishing activities, especially in the coastal sea.
Although the number of fish caught in the coastal sea decreased in 2020 to 1,169,201 tonnes compared to 1,148,729 tonnes in 2015, it still remained at the 1,000,000 tonnes range.
Meanwhile, for 2016, the Fisheries Department recorded 1,195,360; 1,170,270 (2017); 1,192,722 (2018) and 1,192,354 (2019).
Deep-sea fishing should also be a concern to relevant stakeholders, especially the government, although it decreased in 2020, which was 214,098 tonnes compared to 337,321 tonnes (2015).
Checks by Getaran also revealed that there is illegal fishing by foreign fishermen, especially anglers from Vietnam.
If this matter is not taken seriously, it will have a big impact on the country’s food chain. – The Vibes, May 24, 2022
