New Straits Times 28 Jun 11;
THE national love for fish is demonstrated daily by the kind of crowds we produce at wet markets and in the evenings, at the overflowing seafood outlets.
It is time, however, to consider some hard facts: 1.43 million tonnes of fish catches last year, not including squids, prawns and oysters, are not enough to feed a population of 28.5 million.
Among the first few to raise the alarm are the World Wide Fund for Nature and Malaysian Nature Society. In an exercise completed in May last year, they listed 17 species on the watch-out list, those facing depletion, including our beloved grouper (kerapu) and pomfret (bawal).
The New Straits Times did a survey of retail outlets to see if Malaysians are heeding such pleas for restraint.
No luck there.
At the Pasir Penambang market in Kuala Selangor -- where Kuala Lumpur buyers snap up fresh seafood -- buyers and sellers shared their love for grouper and pomfret. But the supply of senangin, white pomfret, and mackerel (tenggiri) there has been on the low side.
Understandably, researchers, sellers, enforcement people and fishing boat owners are alarmed by dwindling catches.
Forty years ago, Kuala Selangor traditional fisherman Chan Chong Ying, 61, used to catch 20kg of fish worth RM3,000 from a day out at sea.
"It is difficult to land 2kg of fish now," said Chan, who with some exaggeration, announced his retirement. "My boat is now at the jetty -- permanently."
The owner of Joo Lian Fisheries, Lim Ah Lam, 69, recalls the time his business was at its peak when he had boxes stacked up until the entrance.
"These days, we are down to two boxes in a day."
On the ground, coastal fishermen are pointing fingers at deep-sea fishermen, including foreign crews, monopolising the area of catch until the exclusive economic zone -- 200 nautical miles from the shore.
Daud Husin, 47, a coastal fisherman, said deep-sea vessels, equipped with trawl nets, have destroyed their fishing gear and damaged the seabed.
The real "villains" in the piece are the Vietnamese vessels and crew.
These are boats owned by local operators who retain the original Vietnamese crews. The authorities recently probed their activities.
Kota Kinabalu Fishermen's Association general manager, Hassim Kassim, said these Vietnamese vessels did not unload and declare their catches at the jetties.
There have also been recent reports of fishing groups going on strike in Kuantan, Hutan Melintang and the coastal parts of Sarawak.
These were sparked by the reduction of their super diesel subsidies.
Previously, the price of super diesel was set at RM1.25 per litre for vessels from all zones but it has since risen to RM1.80.
The Department of Fisheries said deep-sea vessels were making a pile from selling subsidised diesel to "third parties".
The subsequent crackdown on them brought about strikes by fishermen, resulting in a pattern of reduced catches.
Away from the din at the jetties, industry scientists and researchers are equally troubled.
Associate Professor Dr Kusairi Mohd Noh, senior fellow at Institute of Agricultural and Food Policy Studies at Universiti Putra Malaysia, is arguing for a more efficient stock-management policy.
"In a blink, fishing spots can be wiped out."
Overfishing, illegal trade activities, trawling, rising costs and habitat disruption are blamed for the depletion in fish stock.
To avert a crisis, the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry has issued more permits to import fish from Thailand.
Thailand is the second biggest exporter of fish to Malaysia after China, the source of frozen fillets, mackerel, sardines, shrimps, prawns, cuttlefish and squids.
Imports are one alternative to depletion, but what about the future?
Director-general of fisheries Datuk Ahamad Sabki Mahmood said there was a need to invest in conservation, which must be in proportion with the public consumption and harvest rate.
With this, the Department of Fisheries is seeking RM25 million to deploy 50 artificial reefs.
