Fishermen 'grounded' due to net ruling

Twelve fishermen's associations said their members will continue with its strike until the Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and the Fisheries Department engage them in dialogue.

The associations said they wanted to air their grouses over the Fisheries Department's new 38mm mesh net ruling, effective Nov 1. The government had insisted that this was essential to preserve the fish stock in the country's waters.

Spokesperson for the groups Kee Jeh Hai said the members of the 12 associations are afraid to go out to sea as they insist on using their smaller nets which would attract the attention of efforcement personnel.

"The fishermen dare not go to sea for fear that they may be prosecuted by the authorities for not using the required nets," he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said the 12 associations represent 8,000 fishermen with 2,000 boats in 20 fishing villages throughout peninsular Malaysia.

The ruling require fishermen using B-type boats, which are allowed to fish between 5 nautical miles and 12 nautical miles to use nets with mesh size greater than 38mm.

However, the fishermen argue that this will affect their livelihood. Kee said using the new net meant shrimps used for belacan will escape and between 70 to 80 percent of the prawn catch will also be let loose.