New Straits Times 8 Dec 09;
THE state Fisheries Department has been given the task to make an inventory of fish stocks in Johor waters in 2010.
Replying to a question by Harun Abdullah (BN-Tanjung Surat), who wanted to know why the department had stopped issuing licences for traditional fishing boats since 2005, State Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Committee chairman Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said fish stocks in Johor were dwindling.
The issuance of licences was frozen to check the declining fish population. By doing so, the livelihood of traditional fishermen could be protected.
A study showed that fish caught in Johor waters stood at 88,892.96 metric tonnes, worth RM360.56 million, in 2007. Last year, the haul was 84,153.75 metric tonnes, worth RM360.17 million.
A total of 1,481 licences for the boats were approved from 2002 to 2005.
In 2008, the cabinet again approved the applications but only for the month of October.
In that short period, the Johor Fisheries Department approved a total of 1,211 licences. Now, the department only renews existing licences.
Aziz also said the Department of Environment had already conducted checks on complaints that prawn- breeding ponds near a tributary were polluting Sungai Lebam.
"A directive has been issued by the department to the operators to stop the pollution immediately or face action by the department."
