Bleak time for fishermen
Christina Chin The Star 1 Aug 11;
PENANG’S coastal fishermen are bracing for a bleak Hari Raya Aidilfitri, claiming that their income and catch had been severely affected by offshore trawlers using the pukat buaya.
Teluk Bahang Fishermen’s Association chairman Johari Mohamad, 47, said the association’s 1,000-odd members had suffered for the last 11 years but could not take it anymore after their daily income dropped steadily from RM400 to RM80.
“If we are lucky these days, we take home an average of RM80 daily. Otherwise, it’s zero,” he said.
“That’s why we are appealing for help. We cannot survive anymore, with the high cost of living and dwindling catch.
“Hari Raya is just around the corner, where are we going to get the money to celebrate with our families if our rice bowl is threatened?”
Johari, together with about 300 fishermen from villages along the coastlines of the island and mainland, gathered for a peaceful demonstration in Teluk Bahang yesterday.
The group wants the government to ban offshore trawlers from using the pukat buaya — a version of the pukat tunda (trawler nets).
They claim that Kedah and Johor had already banned the pukat buaya to protect the livelihood of its fishermen.
The fishermen claim that the pukat buaya has destroyed the reefs and everything in its path.
“All the fish are trapped in the nets, leaving nothing for us,” said Johari.
“The reefs are all destroyed so there is nowhere left for the fish to breed.
“Currently, the trawlers are allowed to come within five nautical miles from the shore but we want that to be changed to 10 nautical miles to prevent them from destroying the seabed.”
The inshore fishermen also want the relevant authorities to take stern action against errant trawler operators who breach the terms of their licences.
“These trawlers are out every hour of the day when they are only allowed to do so from 6am to 6pm.
“If the relevant authorities do not act soon, I don’t know what will become of us,” said Johari, adding that the fishermen had lodged countless police reports and held dialogue sessions with their respective elected representatives and state Fisheries Department since 2000 but the situation remained the same.
He said the inshore fishermen had lost patience with the lack of enforcement against errant trawlers.
He said a fight broke out between three inshore fishermen and a trawler operator in Tanjung Bungah two weeks ago.
“We don’t want another untoward incident but the situation is tense,” he said.
Heng Teik Seng said that in his 16 years as a fisherman, things had never been this bad.
