Malaysia wages 'war' on Vietnam trawlers

Adrian David New Straits Times 19 May 19;

KUALA LUMPUR: MALAYSIA has sent a strong message to Vietnam that it is fully committed to protecting its billions of ringgit of fish and marine resources in the South China Sea.

On April 25, Malaysia initiated a multi-agency task force to safeguard its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from poaching by Vietnamese trawlers.

Wisma Putra followed it up by sending a strong protest note to Hanoi, via its ambassador here on May 8, signalling its “war” against the marauding trawlers.

The task force is understood to have mobilised an assortment of maritime, naval, marine and fisheries assets and thousands of personnel, with “eye in the sky” support from the air force.

The latest success was on May 11 when the Royal Malaysian Navy’s patrol vessel, KD Pahang, detained a fleeing Vietnamese trawler about 130 nautical miles northeast of Kemaman, along with its crew of 14.

On the same day, another trawler with 29 crew members was detained by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), about 80 nautical miles off Kuching, Sarawak.

On May 4, MMEA detained a Vietnamese trawler, with a crew of 24, 83 nautical miles from Kuala Pahang.

MMEA director-general Admiral Datuk Seri Zulkifli Abu Bakar said the task force would not relent in battling the illegal activities of Vietnamese fishermen, who were illegally harvesting RM6 billion worth of fish annually.

Indirectly, the destruction of coral reefs on idyllic islands off Terengganu, Pahang, Johor, Sarawak and Sabah is affecting Malaysia’s mega tourism industry.

The New Sunday Times has learnt that Malaysia is contemplating increasing the severity of punishments for the culprits as a stronger deterrent.

Zulkifli said: “The Vietnamese fishermen do not seem to be rattled by the increased punishments from their authorities who have amended their Fishery Law. Even the Yellow Card issued (in October 2017) to Vietnam by the European Union does not seem to be effective.”

The Yellow Card is a warning that Vietnam has not been tackling illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, resulting in a complete ban on exports to Europe, which is the world’s biggest importer of fisheries products.

The global value of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is estimated at €10 billion to €20 billion (RM46.64 billion to RM93.27 billion) a year. Between 11 million and 26 million tonnes of fish are caught illegally a year, constituting at least 15 per cent of world catches.

Thailand was slapped with a Yellow Card in April 2015, but it was removed in January this year after it successfully addressed shortcomings in its fisheries legal and administrative systems.

Zulkifli believes the Vietnamese authorities face a daunting task in tackling the situation.

“I believe there are tens of thousands of Vietnamese fishing vessels and their authorities are having a hard time containing them.”

The NSU has learnt that there are 80,000 Vietnamese trawlers, and the fishermen, who are driven by poverty, resort to poaching because they want to reap quick profits.

Local fishermen up in arms over brazen intrusion, loss of livelihood
Adrian David New Straits Times 20 May 19;

KUALA LUMPUR: The blatant intrusion of Vietnamese trawlers off Peninsular Malaysia’s east coast has drawn the ire of local fishermen.

Tens of thousands of local fishermen have urged the Agriculture and Agro-based Ministry and other agencies to take remedial measures.

Speaking on their behalf, Dungun Fishermen’s Association board of directors representative Bahiyuddin Awang Harun urged the authorities to intervene.

“Our livelihood and that of our families has been severely affected by these indiscriminate actions of Vietnamese fishermen.

“They seem to have a free hand to blatantly intrude into Malaysian waters and wantonly poach our fish.

“Not only are we affected, but the country is also suffering a huge loss, not to mention the horrendous damage to the biodiversity, seabed and marine life in our country,” said Bahiyuddin, who recently organised a protest at Dataran Shahbandar jetty in Kuala Terengganu.

He added that the local fishermen were wondering how the Vietnamese fishermen were able to get permits issued by the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry for the last 15 years to catch fish in Malaysian waters. The NST learnt that a Malaysian syndicate was allegedly renting out the permits to the fishermen.

“There are at least 100 Vietnamese trawlers actively fishing in our waters unchallenged. They are able to reap huge profits by netting premium fish that fetch high prices when sold back home.”

Owing to their success stories, more Vietnamese fishermen are becoming bolder about venturing into our waters and depleting the supply of fish here, he added.


Reasons for Vietnamese fishermen encroachment 'surge'
Adrian David New Straits Times 20 May 19;

KUALA LUMPUR: VIETNAMESE trawlers encroach on Malaysian waters partly because it is less stringently policed compared with the sea around the Paracels and Spratlys archipelago, where Chinese forces have a strong presence.

Vietnamese fishermen are also venturing further out into the open sea after over-harvesting, dredging and the building of artificial islands had damaged 160 sq km of their country’s seabed.

A fisheries industry expert said poaching had also resulted in the depletion of Vietnam’s fish stock by as much as 70 per cent over the past 20 years.

Fisheries Department director-general Datuk Munir Mohd Nawi said these had caused the Vietnamese fishermen to trespass on Malaysian waters to plunder some RM6 billion in marine resources a year.

The worst part was that the illegal fishermen used dragnets that destroy the priceless marine ecosystem including corals.

Vietnam’s fishing industry employs more than 4.5 million people and is the world’s fourth largest exporter of fish after China, Norway and Thailand.

The Vietnamese Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep) reported that the country’s catch amounted to US$10 billion (RM41 billion) a year.

Former Maritime Institute of Malaysia (Mima) director-general retired First Admiral Datuk Chin Yoon Chin said there were more than 80,000 trawlers operated by Vietnamese fishermen.

“Their favourite catch are the expensive bluefin tuna and equally high-priced yellowfin tuna. Other popular ones are grouper, squid, cockles and shell-fish, crabs, shrimps, snapper, lobsters, oysters and baby sharks.”

A Bluefin tuna reportedly sells for US$200 per kg, while yellowfin tuna can fetch US$8 per kg. Earlier this year, a 277.6kg bluefin tuna was sold for US$3 million in Japan.

“The extraction of this natural resource in the South China Sea has been the cause of many international spats recently.

“The area is biologically diverse and home to 3,365 species of fish. It is also one of the five most productive fishing zones in the world with regard to total annual marine production.

“It helps the coastal economy and is crucial for the export trade and food security of 12 countries and territories it borders.”

Chin added that since 1998, Vietnam had offered US$65 million in economic incentives and preferential loans to its offshore fishermen to upgrade their vessels with powerful engines and modern equipment.

“Private businesses and foreign-invested businesses linked to Vasep are also given tax reductions during the first three years of offshore fisheries business,” said Chin.

He said there were 31 ports from where the Vietnamese trawlers operated.

However, only seven could accommodate large vessels equipped with 400hp engines — Lach Bang and Lach Hoi in Thanh Hoa province; Cua Hoi in Nghe An province; Xuan Pho in Ha Tinh province; Song Gianh in Quang Binh province; Con Co in Quang Tri province; and Thuan Phuoc in Da Nang province.

D-G: Malaysia's marine resources may be wiped out
Adrian David New Straits Times 20 May 19;

KUALA LUMPUR: Poaching by illegal Vietnamese trawlers is threatening to deplete Malaysia’s fish stock. Worse still, the country’s billions of ringgit in marine resources and the eco-system may be wiped out.

Fisheries Department director-general Datuk Munir Mohd Nawi warned that if the situation was left unchecked, there could be nothing left in Malaysia.

“This is a very serious issue as our seabed is being stripped and the country’s resources are being plundered.

“We are losing billions of ringgit, with RM6 billion in fish (RM4.2 billion from territorial waters and RM1.8 billion in deep sea) alone stolen, annually. The time has come for us to come down hard on these illegal fishing activities conducted mainly by foreigners,” said Munir.

The New Straits Times learnt that an estimated 11 million to 26 million tonnes, or 15 per cent, of the global catch was reportedly taken illegally each year.

Munir said preventive and rehabilitative measures had to be implemented through a fisheries management plan to overcome the effects of global warming, climate change and pollution.

Studies on 7,800 marine species around the world’s ecosystem by global marine experts concluded that nearly 90 per cent of global fish stocks were either fully fished or over-fished.

“And by 2048, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has forecast a total seafood depletion in the world, despite an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development forecast of a 17 per cent rise in fish production by 2025,” he said

Munir called for stricter control, supervision and management of marine life to avoid dire consequences in the coming years.

Munir said that Malaysian fishermen caught nearly one million tonnes of seafood annually, with about 40,000 tonnes kept as frozen reserves.

“The situation is more challenging during the monsoon season when small-vessel fishermen are hindered from going out to sea, thus, depleting supplies.

“But we manage somehow by importing seafood to meet local demand, especially for restaurants, for premium fish like salmon, red snapper and mussels.”

Alternately, he said, there were efforts to improve enforcement against illegal fishing, especially by foreign vessels which destroy marine life using trawling nets.

One of the measures, he said, was to prevent the use of trawling nets within 12 nautical miles inshore to protect the productive zones comprising corals and reefs at marine parks, and fish breeding grounds.

“International ecologists and economists discovered that the loss of biodiversity has impaired the ability of oceans to feed the world’s growing human population, which was expected to rise by 50 per cent to nine billion in 2050.

“The studies showed that more people were eating fish as a protein source,” he said.