Illegals threat to Sabah's fish security
Published on: Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah's species of fish stock and marine biodiversity could be diminished beyond sustainability within 40 years if no resolute steps are taken to protect its natural assets from foreign fishermen prowling the sea around its 1,600 km coastline and deter alien poor fishermen from blast fishing.Sabah has over 1,200 species of fish, 476 species of coral, 400 species of marine algae, 16 species of sea grasses, 22 species of marine mammals and five species of marine turtles (out of seven species in the world)."As long as we have illegal immigrant fishermen, fish bombing will be difficult to eradicate. They can easily see us coming from far in open sea and dispose evidence off from their boats."
ADVERTISEMENT
The other problem which compounded the issue is the encroachment of rich fishermen from foreign countries like China and Vietnam.The Director of Sabah's Fisheries Department Datuk Rayner Stuel Galid said this in his presentation 'Fisheries Offences: Why it goes beyond harvesting fish illegally', that 75 per cent of Malaysia's coral reefs are located in Sabah and these natural wonders are being destroyed by bad fishing methods from fish bombing, sodium cyanide fishing, unsuitable fishing nets that scour across the sea floor that also trap turtles besides others.Rayner calls for stiffer sentencing of offenders to protect the state's marine and riverine resources as millions of ringgit were lost and nature destroyed would take a long time to recover where possible, despite existing fishing resources management based on two existing laws: The Fisheries Act 1985 and the International Trade in Endangered Species Act 2008.He spoke at length on the various example cases reported in the media on foreign fishermen fined and jailed for various offences.
ADVERTISEMENT
He explained that there is a mismatch between international convention and domestic laws that need to be synchronised."Fish landings in 2013 totalled 196,522 metric tonnes with the value of RM903 million.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Fisheries commodity exports in 2013 totalled 71,931 metric tonnes with the value of RM738 million."Since there are some 29,600 fishermen operating 35,950 fishing gears onboard 16,250 registered boats, Rayner said there is a need to consider fish catch quotas, closed fishing seasons and minimum sizes of fish to be imposed in practice.Rayner was one of the speakers at the second day seminar of the Workshop on Environment at Universiti Malaysia Sabah, organised by the judiciary-initiated Sabah Working Group on Environment themed 'Environmental Protection in Sabah and Sarawak – The Way Forward'. The two East Malaysian states jointly have bigger land mass and longer coastlines than West Malaysia."Destructive fishing practice like blast or bomb fishing is reported worldwide in developing countries. The technique is indiscriminate, killing all fish within a certain range, besides being a very wasteful practice, as fishermen often can't be bothered to collect all the fish. Reef destruction is common result of blasting and it takes many years to recover."Law enforcement patrols are expensive and without successful targeting, it was easy for fishermen to escape. It is difficult to obtain enough, if any, evidence to convict culprits."Sabah Parks reported in 2014 that there was only one court case of fish bombing with only three months imprisonment for the culprits.However, if Sabah could successfully adopt the US shotspotter technology for pinpointing gunshots to underwater application using microphones could help to solve pinpointing fish bombing activities and the assigning of enforcement manpower, the state could be a test case for other parts of Asia.The state's marine eco-tourism industry potential is also being threatened by alien fishermen who can earn US$300 per turtle caught to be resold in Hainan, China for US$1,000 each and other unsustainable practices.For example, a shark's value to Sabah's marine diversity and eco-tourism is estimated to be worth US$815,000 when compared to US$100 to a fisherman finning a shark to be left for dead. Shark finning destroys the ecosystem as well as local livelihood.Ecotourism like that of the Semporna Shark Sanctuary helps to alleviate poverty in the area, creating jobs for the people in various capacities from the hospitality sector to transportation for tourists.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
