A sea of troubles

The diesel subsidy cut has just added to the fishermen's litany of woes.

PETALING JAYA: It was close to midday when a group of four fishermen gathered around a small table at a fish landing complex in Kampung Bagan Pasir, Tanjung Karang.

As fishing vessels of various sizes floated idly around the complex, one of the men peeled the cover off a plastic paint container and poured out a stack of mahjong tiles onto the table.

“This is what we do when the tide is high and we can’t go out to sea,” one of them called over his shoulder as he deftly arranged his tiles in a neat row. Another smirked.

“It’s not like we get a big catch when we go out these days anyway,” he remarked before lightning his umpteenth cigarette.

“Rokok”, as he was aptly dubbed by the others, had been a fishermen for 24 years with the best of those already behind him. These past years have etched new lines on his forehead.

“There isn’t much fish left anymore,” he said. “The price of diesel is rising but our income isn’t. The sea has become unreliable. And my youngest child is only 16.”

Being coastal fishermen however all four were spared the burden of the super subsidy cut for diesel that were hitting the deep sea fishermen with C2 trawlers.

Diesel was now priced at RM1.80 per litre instead of RM1.25 which had left the fishermen looking at an additional monthly cost of between RM13,000 and RM15,000.

“Rokok” and his friends were relieved at having escaped the sting this time but braced themselves for when it would finally catch up with them.

But for now “Rokok” wasn’t interested in bemoaning the rapidly changing face of his future. He just wanted to focus on winning the first round of mahjong.

Ah Guek, 61, on the other hand, was happy for the company.

He had just returned from sea and was spending the afternoon pattering about the fish landing complex in Tanjung Karang where his C trawler was docked.

“These are hard times,” he confirmed. “I can only work 15 days a month when the tide is low. And even then I’m lucky if I can get 1kg of catch a day. Things were different before.”

‘Where is too close?’

The brazeness of youth was also part of that difference. As a young fisherman, Ah Guek had no qualms about encroaching into Indonesian waters.

“I fished in those waters many times” he said with unmistakable pride at the memory of his glory days. “And I brought home a big catch every time. But I stopped doing that after I became a father.”

“It’s too dangerous. The Indonesian authorities are more vigilant now and getting caught means being detained there for a long time. One fishermen I know has been detained for two months now.”

Malaysia’s marine laws dictate that A trawlers must fish at a distance of one nautical mile from the shore, B trawlers at five nautical miles, C trawlers at 12 nautical miles and C2 trawlers at above 30 nautical miles. While A, B, and C trawlers are allowed to go past 30 nautical miles, C2 trawlers are forbidden from going below it.

The distance between Malaysia and Indonesia is 60 nautical miles which puts the C2 trawlers at the highest risk of encroachment be it intentional or otherwise.

Kee Keo Poh, the Hutan Melintang Fisherman’s Association president and the owner of three C2 trawlers, was at his wits end over this predicament.

“The government has told us not to get too close to Indonesia,” he said. “Where is too close? We have already exceeded the middle line. So we try to remain within 30 to 35 nautical miles.”

“This essentially means sharing just five nautical miles with countless other vessels including foreign ones. There is only so much fish to go around. So we have a choice between returning home with a poor catch and getting arrested by Indonesian authorities.”

When told of Ah Guek’s unfortunate friend, Kee, 40, sighed, “Two months is only the beginning. Some fishermen I know were only released after five years. Can you imagine what this does to their families?”

Another thorn in Kee’s side is the punishment that comes with having an illegal foreign worker on board. Not only is there a hefty fine but the entire catch is sold off by the police and the boat is slapped with a one year compound.

“This means we can go out to sea but we can’t sell our catch,” Kee explained. “We can’t even sell our boat because who wants a boat that can’t make money? But this is only for the first offence.”

“If you get caught a second time, your boat can get a five-year compound. You may as well look for a job on land. And even that is almost impossible because most of us are school dropouts. We don’t have any other skills.”

“But it isn’t easy to find a crew,” Kee emphasised.

“We need men who don’t get seasick and who understand the industry. We’re sometimes out at sea for 12 days at a stretch. Malaysians don’t want this job but the foreigners do. What’s the answer?”

‘Complete waste of money’

He also brought up the RM3.4 billion spent on 34 fish landing complexes in the country. To his knowledge there were only seven in Peninsula Malaysia and the one in Penang was a white elephant.

“The complex there was built for a C3 trawler which fishes in the Indian Ocean and only returns once a year,” he pointed out. “The rest of the time that expensive complex is used by anglers. To me, that is a complete waste of money.”

All these grouses have since been overshadowed by the subsidy cut from which Kee said he is unlikely to recover. His family business may come to a fullstop when the leftover diesel from last month finally runs out. And then it could be his turn to hunt for a job on land.