Malaysia: Trawling threat to marine life

Farik Zolkepli The Star 11 Mar 12;

KUALA TERENGGANU: WWF Malaysia has urged the Govern-ment to take steps to reduce the overcapacity in the existing trawling fleets or ban trawling altogether in an effort to minimise the negative impact of the activity on marine life.

Its executive director and chief executive officer Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma said bottom-trawling was a destructive fishing practice, mainly responsible for overfishing.

“Bottom-trawling must be conducted in an ecologically sustainable manner within effective ecosystem-based management systems.

“In addition, measures to protect vulnerable and representative habitats and species as well as efforts to limit the area and frequency of trawling must be put into place,” he said in a statement yesterday.

He said the practice of bottom-trawling should not be permitted unless responsible states and the relevant fisheries departments had established effective systems that could accomplish certain steps.

“Among the steps that should be taken are carrying out Strategic Environmental Assessments of the likely impact of bottom-trawling on marine environment,” he added.

Dr Dionysius said an adequate step to prepare and implement ecosystem-based fisheries management strategies, laws and regulations must also be made.

“Such laws and regulations must collect adequate baseline information on the marine environment where bottom-trawling occurs, including locations of sensitive seabed habitats.

“The regulations must also establish a comprehensive network of well-managed protected areas to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems along with ecologically or biologically significant areas,” he said.

He added that WWF Malaysia was working with the Government and fishing industries to establish ecosystem-based management of fisheries.

“This effort is mandated by the Coral Triangle Initiative's Regional and national plans of action.

“We are also advocating the implementation of fisheries management and restoration plans as well as greater use of fishing-prohibited areas to allow ecosystems to recover,” he said.

A total of 28,705 fishermen on trawling vessels are located in the country, of which 18,218 are in peninsular Malaysia.