Why did AVA mark my items with paint?

Shaffiq Alkhatib The New Paper 24 Jan 14;

TNP PHOTO: GARY GOH

He returned to his kelong after a trip to the mainland and found many of his items marked with paint.

Mr Salim Sarjo, 52, said even though he did not see any Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) officers painting them, he saw a boat from the agency leaving the kelong. He recalled there were about four AVA officers on it.

His friend and business partner, Mr Sheikh Zaini Shahar, 49, filed a police report to take action against the AVA.

Responding to TNP’s queries as to why its officers had spray-painted items on the farm, the AVA said it had received public complaints that items from coastal fish farms were found drifting in the sea or washed up ashore. It added that any loose items and structures on farms were marked for identification purposes to ensure traceability.

Fish farmer files police report against AVA
Shaffiq Alkhatib The New Paper AsiaOne 26 Jan 14;

SINGAPORE- He had just attended a briefing on local farming by the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) at its Veterinary Public Health Centre at Perahu Road off Lim Chu Kang Road.

And when he returned to his kelong, which is a 10-minute speedboat ride from Changi Point, he found many of his items marked with paint.

Mr Salim Sarjo, 52, told The New Paper on Jan 10 that even though he did not see any AVA officers painting them, he saw a boat from the agency leaving the farm at the Pulau Ubin Coastal Area at around 12.30pm on Oct 23 last year.

He recalled there were about four AVA officers on it.

Mr Salim, who also works as a senior technician for an aviation company, added: "I did not suspect anything at first. But I went up to the kelong and was shocked to see many items there defaced with spray paint.

"Things like barrels, my fridge, cabinet and some pieces of furniture were marked with silver paint. They are now marked with the number '90'.

"I think this is because we are fish farm number 'FC90E'."

The father of three boys and two girls aged between 13 and 25 years old also said the ends of some wooden planks were marked with orange paint.

His friend and business partner, Mr Sheikh Zaini Shahar, 49, filed a police report on Jan 1 to take action against the AVA. The police confirmed with TNP that a report was made and investigations were ongoing.

Speaking in Malay, Mr Sheikh Zaini, who is the father of two boys and four girls aged between nine and 35 years old, said he has known Mr Salim for 18 years through fishing. Both of them had decided to run a fish farm together as an investment for their old age.

RECEIVED LICENCE

In 2004, the two men received their licence to run the 5,000 sq m farm, about the size of a football field. Since then, he claims that they have invested a total of more than $300,000 on the venture.

Mr Sheikh Zaini, who also works as a production supervisor, added: "The items that had been spray painted cost us about $20,000 in all plus transportation costs. It costs money to take them from the mainland."

He said two days later, they received a letter from the AVA stating that it had revoked their licence to run the fish farm.

Among other things, it stated that the farm was not properly maintained and that it had not attained the minimum production of at least 17 tonnes of fish per annum per 5,000 sq m of sea space - a licensing condition of fish culture farms.

In the same letter, the AVA also said the men had to completely remove the farm from its allocated site by Dec 25 last year and that all of its structures have to be removed and properly disposed of on land.

Responding to TNP's queries as to why its officers had spray-painted items on the farm, the AVA said it had received public complaints that items from coastal fish farms were found drifting in the sea or washed up ashore.

It added that any loose items and structures on farms were then marked for identification purposes to ensure traceability. (See report on facing page.)

Mr Sheikh Zaini said that after an appeal, they were granted an extension to remove the entire fish farm structure by the end of this month. If they fail to do so, their security bond of $5,000 will be forfeited.

He added that even before they received the letter informing them of the licence revocation, the men had worked hard to repair the farm and had even bought new planks to replace old ones.

But he said it was challenging to produce at least 17 tonnes of fish a year.

He said: "Fish are living things. We can start with lots of fish fry at first, but not all can survive... We have problems to even break even now.

"It will take about a month to dismantle our kelong. But all we want is our licence back."

POOR CATCH

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said that between 2008 and last year, the men's farm produced less than its minimum production target of 17 tonnes of fish per year.

2008 : 0

2009 : About 600kg

2010 : 0

2011 : 0

2012 : About 1.1 tonnes

2013 : About 900 kg