Isabelle Lai The Star 7 Nov 13;
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) has 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 told The Star.
Maketab said that the fishermen’s protests were based on ignorance and greed, with the focus only being on making short-term profits by selling the bycatch 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.
Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Sunday that the ruling on the new minimum mesh size of 38mm came into force on Nov 1.
He said studies had shown that mesh sizes below 38mm would capture fish fry and a significant amount of bycatch, resulting in population decline.
Fishermen have protested that they would suffer financial losses with this new rule.
In response, Ismail Sabri said this rule had been incorporated in the Fisheries Act but enforcement of it had been delayed for some time.
The new ruling also requires licence holders to be onboard when the ship is at sea.
However, Pulau Ketam MCA branch chairman Chia Mong Chun had argued that the fish fry would not escape with the bigger mesh size as they would have been crushed by the larger fish when the net was hauled up, and that the new ruling would deprive fishermen of the income received from selling the bycatch.
