KOTA TINGGI: Nearly 200 fishermen at the Sungai Rengit Fishermen's Jetty in Pengerang here have incurred losses as they have been unable to go to sea for the past five days due to the effects of an oil spill.
This comes after a ship collision last Friday at a port within Singapore's territory, which resulted in a spill of 400 tonnes of oil.
Rosli Mohd Ali, 56, Sungai Rengit Fishermen's Welfare Organisation chairman said that 183 fishermen who are members of the association have had to wait until the effects of the oil spill on the coast at Sungai Rengit subside to avoid further losses.
He said the incident was noticed by the fishing community last Monday while they were searching for marine produce in the waters of Sungai Rengit.
"We realised it when we saw black patches floating in the sea. We immediately pulled in our nets and returned to the jetty.
"As soon as we arrived at the jetty, we saw many oil patches on the beach. The next day, none of us could go to sea to fish.
"If fishing equipment like nets, buoys, and ropes come into contact with the oil, they are ruined and have to be discarded.
"Nets have knots we call 'books' for the mesh. If they get oil on them, it won't come off. Using contaminated and damaged nets results in poor catches as the fish can smell the oil," he said when met at the Sungai Rengit Fishermen's Jetty here today.
Rosli explained that an oil spill had occurred 10 years ago, severely affecting the fishing community.
He said that at the time, more than 30 fishing boats were covered in oil up to the deck when strong currents and waves carried the oil-contaminated water into the river mouth where their boats were moored.
"These oil patches follow the current. When the tide rises, they enter the river mouth and get stuck when the tide goes out. When it's hot, the oil solidifies on the beach. Even though the collision happened in Singapore, the oil can reach here.
"In this situation, if we went to sea, the losses would multiply. Fishing equipment is not cheap. A single piece of white net costs up to RM360. Deep-sea fishermen like us usually use 60 pieces. You can imagine our losses if all the equipment gets damaged by oil.
"We know that if we report it, the authorities will compensate us, but it takes nearly a month to get new nets made. We would have to wait even longer. It's better to wait for the authorities to clean the beach and sea than to incur double the losses," said Rosli, who has been a deep-sea and coastal fisherman for 30 years.
TAGS: oil spill, Johor, Pengerang, Sungai Rengit, jetty, fishermen, affected, NST, nation, news, Malaysia
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