Sabah to apply fish net ruling

KOTA KINABALU, Nov 14: Sabah will follow the ruling requiring fishermen to use fishing nets with mesh size bigger than 38mm beginning Jan 1 next year.

State Fisheries Department Director Datuk Rayner Stuel Galid said the State would follow the new national policy from the 30mm previously, reiterating the call to ensure sufficient supply of fish for the future.

“We are in the midst of informing all fishermen in the State, including the fish trawler “towkays” (bosses).

“Suka tak suka, semua kena peraturan ini sebagai syarat lesen memukat tunda. (Like it or not, the new ruling will be imposed on all (fishermen) as part of the requirement to their trawling licences),” he said via the short messaging system, here.

The new ruling, which has been enforced in the peninsula last Friday, was met with protest from various groups of fishermen in Selangor, Perak and Penang.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has stressed that the new ruling will stay despite the opposition.

He noted that the ruling has been part of the Fisheries Act 1985 regulations and the fishermen were aware of the ruling three months before.

“Fishermen who had been using nets with meshes smaller than 38mm were hauling in a lot of fry, which could affect the country’s fish supply in the future,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ismail also said the country would not hesitate to import more fish from other countries to meet with local consumption demand.

According to researchers, Malaysia will face seafood supply crisis in the next 50 years if the existing fishing rate continues.

It is also noted the sizes of fish being caught by local fishermen had also been getting smaller in sizes due to depleting seafood supply.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) praised the introduction of a larger mesh size for fishing nets to promote sustainable fisheries.

Its President, Prof. Dr Maketab Mohamad, said a larger mesh size would allow fish fry to become adults as they would not be caught in the net.

“MNS will support any enforcement of laws and regulations that will bring sustainability to our resources, whether on land or in the sea,” he said.

Maketab said the fishermen’s protests were based on ignorance and greed, with the focus only being on making short-term profits by selling the by-catch to be made into fish meal for animal feed.

Maketab said he hoped the Department of Fisheries (DOF) and related agencies would fully enforce the law and also urged DOF to carry out enforcement against fishermen using illegal ray nets, also known as pukat pari, to catch stingrays.

“These specialised nets not only catch stingrays but also turtles, which will drown in them.

This is such a waste of conservation efforts done over the years,” he said.

The new ruling also requires licence holders to be onboard when the ship is at sea.

 

 

source: Daily Express