Divers may skip Sabah for P'pines
Published on: Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah could lose out to the Philippines as one of the most popular diving destinations in the world if shark finning does not get banned.According to State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, that would mean a loss of millions of ringgit of tourism revenue for Sabah.He said the diving industry generates between RM350 million and RM380 million a year from divers out of whom 80 per cent of them choose to come to the State to see sharks in the wild.
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All this he said could be lost just because there are people who have an appetite for shark fin soup."There's a huge diving potential in the Southern Philippines and they have sites which are as good as Sipadan. All they need to do is to get the security issue sorted out. (President) Duterte is doing that now," he said when officiating the closing of 'My Fin My Life' KK Business Dialogue 2016, Monday.Masidi said if the issue of shark finning in Sabah continues to find no solution, foreign divers would easily choose to go to the neighbouring country.
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He could not stress enough that if that happens the loss for Sabah would be huge as the tourism industry employs 90 per cent of locals.The minister, who professed to be an advocate for shark protection, has been pushing for shark finning ban in Sabah only to be frustrated by the fact that the state has no power to enforce it falls under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry.
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He had said last August that no state law to ban shark hunting and finning may be able to stand up in court if it overrides provisions in the Fisheries Act which does not make such actions an offence.Despite the mounting pressure from international and local conservationists on the Sabah government to amend the Fisheries Act to ban shark hunting and finning, Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek had reportedly said amendments to the Act was unnecessary.He did say however that Sabah was free to amend its state laws to ban shark hunting, but federal regulations would remain.He had also said that out of the 67 shark species, of which 48 could be found in Sabah waters, only two were considered endangered – whale shark and sawfish.But Masidi told the audience at the business dialogue that there is still reason to hope that the ban can be enforced only in Sabah."I've discussed the issue with Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar who agreed to intervene and help us. This is a good news," he said.Earlier, Masidi reminded that the shark population is on a serious decline as the marine species continue to be slaughtered to satisfy consumer demand for shark fin soup. Conservationists including the WWF-Malaysia, in their untiring campaign against shark hunting and finning, have shown evidence of human brutality on the species. After getting finned, the shark's body are discarded – sometimes still alive – back to the sea where they would die a slow death.Since January this year, WWF-Malaysia has been targeting the support from at least one million Malaysians to back its call for "no shark fin soup" through its 'My Fin My Life' campaign.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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