MARINE fisheries resources have declined significantly over the past decade primarily due to overfishing.
Fisheries in the coastal areas are mainly characterised by small-scale artisanal fishery where more than 80 per cent of the boats are small fiber-glass boats (locally called sampan).
Fishermen use a different type of fishing gear, such as hooks and lines, traps, gill nets and drift nets. However, each gear type has different designs and sizes, to catch specific type of fish.
The overexploitation of marine fisheries has created a crisis in Malaysia.
Fisheries productivity has declined and the small-scale artisanal fishermen face livelihood problems because of low catches.
The government has implemented artificial reef programmes to enhance fish stock and improve livelihood of fishermen, who depend on fishing for their living.
Artificial reefs are important tools for fisheries management and conservation in many countries.
In Malaysia, various floating objects such as derelict wooden boats, bundles of tree branches, twigs and tires have been used as fish-aggregating devices called unjam-unjam in the East Coast since the early 1900s.
The artisanal fishermen installed unjam-unjam close to the coastal areas, within 4.8km from the shore to attract fish in these fish-aggregating devices (FADs).
These unjam-unjam are privately owned by individual fisherman, as well as groups of fishermen.
The Fisheries Development Authority Malaysia (LKIM) has deployed artificial reefs (ARs) in various locations in the coastal waters between 4.8km and 8km since 1987. Various types, sizes and designs of objects have been installed on the sea bed.
Fishermen were allowed to harvest these unjam-unjam and used them as FADs. The main purpose of these LKIM-initiated unjam-unjam was to increase fish productivity, and thereby, enhance catches and income of the artisanal fishermen.
The Department of Fisheries Malaysia (DOFM) has also deployed artificial reefs known as tukun tukun to various locations in the coastal waters. The main objective of the ARs was to protect and conserve overexploited fisheries resources. The artisanal fishermen have failed to protect fisheries from encroachment of trawls.
DOFM introduced an extensive artificial reef programme when various designs of pre-fabricated heavy concrete reefs were deployed in marine waters since 1996. The objective of deploying heavy structure was to protect inshore fisheries from trawls and conserve marine fisheries resources.
In Malaysia, the AR programme has been implemented by DOFM and LKIM for more than 30 years, and it has been expected to enhance fisheries resources through conservation and to increase income from fishing.
The main issue is that in spite of implementing the conservation approach, fish catches have been declining in Peninsular Malaysia.
The complexity of multi-species fisheries and different types of fishing methods are the main challenges for fisheries management in Malaysia.
The main purpose of DOFM’s ARs (known as tukun-tukun) is to promote fisheries conservation and management, while LKIMmanaged ARs (unjam-unjam) are to support artisanal fishermen, who rely on fishing for their livelihoods.
The benefits from ARs (unjam-unjam) are to aggregate fish that result in higher and stable catch, and reducing time and costs of fishing. The artisanal fishermen use drift nets as the main gear.
However, fishermen have increased the use of hooks and lines surrounding the AR sites and increased their fishing efforts. More than half of the artisanal fishermen use multiple gears, such as drift nets, hooks and lines.
Fishermen also use modern fishing equipment such as echo-sounder (as fish finders) in order to increase catch in the ARs. The overall fishing intensity has increased in the AR areas because of the use of these equipment.
On the other hand, DOFM initially restricted fishing activities in the AR areas by putting up buoys.
However, due to a lack of enforcement, it was unable to protect these AR areas from overfishing and trawl encroachment.
The use of different fishing gears in AR (tukun-tukun) areas has created an entanglement problem, especially between drift net and hook and line users who mainly target catch surrounding the AR areas; fishing conflicts arise among fishermen groups. The size, design and material of ARs deployed in Malaysia are different.
Fisheries conservation is difficult in coastal fisheries in Malaysia because of the use of multiple types of fishing gear and multi-species fisheries.
Fishing conflicts can be reduced if the AR locations are clearly allocated and assigned to a specific fishermen group. Different management approaches exist in ARs.
The artisanal fishermen have established exclusive user rights in their own unjam areas. They have gradually established their fishing rights in the LKIM-unjam sites.
The DOFM-initiated conservation-oriented management of fisheries has not been enforced successfully.
The purpose of the ARs and management of fisheries must be understood by local users.
The current fishing practices seem unsustainable for the future because of the open access characteristics of fisheries in the coastal areas. Fishermen use efficient fishing methods such as traps and hooks. The potential for multiple-fishing methods used in the AR areas need attention for the artisanal fisheries in Malaysia.
The fishermen have a lack of incentives to protect the ARs.
The government can provide some incentive to ensure that fishermen are involved in protecting fisheries resources.
Dr Gazi Md Nurul Islam is an associate professor at Tun Abdul Razak School of Government, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak. He can be reached via gazi@unirazak.edu.my