KOTA KINABALU: Fish supplies are already drying up following the no fishing protest launched by the Kota Kinabalu Fishing Boat Owners Association due to a fee fiasco since Thursday. A fishmonger told Daily Express on Friday that he may be forced to wind up early although he had prepared a two-day stockpile to keep his business running. "Yes, we have already stocked up as we have heard stories that the local fishermen would not be going out to fish due to the fee fiasco," he said.
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"Although we support them (the fishing association), we want the matter resolved immediately as we also have to earn a living and to feed the family," lamented another fishmonger, here. He hoped the Government would step in immediately to put the matter to rest immediately.
On Thursday, the association announced that they have ceased going out to sea with immediate effect until jetty concessionaire, Sejahtera Bumimas, heeds their call to negotiate to lower fees. They alleged that despite numerous calls to lower their fees during discussions mediated by the Sabah Fisheries Marketing Authority (Safma), Sejahtera Bumimas had kept adjusting their fees four to five times since taking over operations of the jetty from Safma.
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Chairman Simon Hong said the last straw was when Sejahtera Bumimas acquired several Chinese men from Sarawak, believed to be hired thugs, to extract the fees from them for over a week. About 30 police reports were lodged on the "thugs" who, however, turned their attention to customers to scare them away.
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The fishing association, which has over 100 members, currently covers 70 per cent of the local fish supplies, covering major markets in the city, Penampang and Telipok. Up to 15 food processing companies are also dependent on their fresh fish supply to produce fish cakes and fish balls meant for the markets across Sabah. Sim Boon Han, the owner of a company dealing in frozen seafood, Tetap Jaya Trading, said his businesses depended on fresh fish supplies early in the morning to maintain the quality of his products. "The thing is if we allow fish which are not fresh to be processed, our products would taste funny once they are consumed," he claimed.
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Sejahtera Bumimas and Sabah Fisheries Marketing Authority (Safma) President Datuk Jaujan Sambokong could not be reached for comments. Many expect the supply of fish to drop drastically in the next couple of days, thus pushing the prices of fish higher if the no fishing protest continues.