KUALA TERENGGANU: Malaysia has established a multi-agency special task force to curb illegal fishing in its waters.
Illegal fishing by sea-poachers has not only cost the country RM6 billion in fish products annually but also caused damage to marine resources and the eco-system.
Fisheries Department director-general Datuk Munir Mohd Nawi said the task force comprises his department, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), the marine police and several other enforcement agencies.
“This is a very serious issue as our seabeds are being stripped and the country is being plundered. We are losing billions of ringgit.
“The time has come for us to come down hard on these illegal fishing activities, conducted mainly by foreigners.
“If left unchecked, there may be nothing left for us,” he warned.
The task force, he added, was expected to swing into action by year’s end once its operational details and mechanism were formalised.
He said this after officiating the ‘International Acoustic Training Course for Capacity Building Programme of an OIC Country - Bangladesh’.
The event was held at the South East Asian Fisheries Development Centre-cum-Marine Fishery Resources Development and Management Department in Chendering.
Munir however declined to divulge further details on the culprits.
An estimated 11 million to 26 million tonnes, or 15 per cent, of the world’s fish are reportedly caught illegally each year.
The NSTP reported that maritime bases off the South China Sea were facing increasing challenges, while being cramped with hundreds of seized illegal fishing boats and detained foreign fishermen.
It is learnt that up to 400 foreign vessels, comprising almost entirely of Vietnamese fishing boats, have been docked at the MMEA’s limited- parking jetties in Kuala Terengganu, Tok Bali and Kemaman in Terengganu as well as Kuantan, Pahang in recent years.
Just for the first eight months this year, a total of 124 vessels and an estimated one thousand Vietnamese have been detained by the MMEA.
Meanwhile, Munir said acoustic devices were designed to train industry players to detect fish in an effective and cost-saving way.
“This will help them determine the precise area, type of netting and equipment to be used, thus, saving up to 40 per cent in operating costs,” he said, adding that about 1,000 vessels in the county had already begun using the technology.