Living City: Last fishermen on Singapore’s east coast

Straits Times 14 Aug 18;

SINGAPORE - Jurong and Senoko are well-known ports of call for Singapore's fish trade.

But East Coast Park, too, is home to a small wharf that caters to customers with a taste for fresh fish.

Located along the beach near carpark B1, it is the park's last boat storage facility.

From the 1970s till 2007, the National Parks Board (NParks) offered four such facilities at subsidised rates to fishermen who had been affected by resettlement.

Today, the only one remaining - about the size of half a football field - houses 35 NParks-registered boats owned by fishermen. Only boat owners who fish for a living may apply to use the facility. Their vessels must also have a valid licence issued by the Maritime Port Authority or Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority.

"Most of the time, customers come here and collect their orders at the beach," said Mr Lim Ah Ping, 65, a semi-retired fisherman.

Most customers are regulars who have bought fish from them for many years.

Fellow fisherman Kee Seck Heng, 56, said: "My customers first chanced upon this place when they came to East Coast Park to exercise."

In this episode of Living City, The Straits Times takes you to the last community of fishermen at Singapore's east coast.