KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government plans to implement an amnesty programme next year to deal with the state’s decades-long problem with fishing vessel permits.
Deputy chief minister Jeffrey Kitingan said there were currently more than 11,000 fishing vessel licences still active in Sabah.
“However, many of the holders do not adhere to the conditions of their licences,” he said in a statement here today. “This has been an ongoing problem for more than three decades and something needs to be done about it.
“However, we will not punish licensees without offering them the opportunity to keep their licences, robbing them of their source of income.”
Kitingan, who is also state agriculture and fisheries minister, said therefore his ministry would carry out an amnesty programme to allow offenders to resolve their problems if they want to keep their licences.
During the programme, all fishing vessel licences would be recalled and renewed if the holders can demonstrate compliance with the conditions. No penalty would be imposed on offenders during the recall of the licences.
He said the programme would focus on nine different types of offences.
The first is holders who have fishing vessel licences but do not own fishing vessels. Many licence holders only renew their licences solely for financial benefit or other undisclosed reasons.
The second category is vessels that have changed sizes after a licence was issued.
“The problem with this category is the non-standardisation of vessel sizes,” Kitingan said.
“Some licensees would upsize their vessels and then claim they are still adhering to the terms and conditions. We need to clearly specify the sizes under each licence category.”
Other offences include licences being issued while vessels are still being built and vessels built not adhering to the terms and conditions of the licences. - FMT
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