Meet us before we go under, fishermen tell minister

If no amicable solution can be found on the fishing net regulations made by the country, then fishermen in at least five states will have to hang up their fishing nets and call it a day.

This was the message some 100 fishermen took to Parliament today, as they handed over a memorandum and sought a meeting with the agriculture and agro-based industries minister.

“Some of us have not gone to sea in 20 days. Some of us just found ithat it is not profitable any more, following the diesel subsidy cut.

“The regulations (mandating the use of nets with mesh size larger than 38mm) affect 70 percent of our catch, and it was done after just one meeting with fishermen.

“So we are asking now for a dialogue with the minister so that we can find a middle ground. 

“We have tried many times before to meet with the minister, but to no avail,” said their representative Cheah Swee Teck (left).

Cheah spoke to the media after handing over a seven-page memorandum to Pakatan Rakyat MPs, in the hope that the MPs couold help them broker a meeting with the minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Accompanying him were fishermen from Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Pahang and Johor.

“We don’t only lose the smaller shrimps but the nets ‘bruise’ the fish and squid. Unlike in Australia, the fish here have thin skins and the skins are ripped off by the nets,” Cheah said.

He also accepts that the government is implementing the 38mm rule to preserve fish supply, but believes that this can be done in a staggered manner.

In the memorandum addressed to Ismail, the fishermen also highlighted the following problems:

• Regulations mandating that trawlers must fish in waters 30 nautical miles away from land places fishermen at the mercy of armed pirates as well as threats by enforcement officers of neighbouring countries;

• Most boats that fish in the C2 deep water zone are more than 20 years old;

• Diesel subsidy cuts have raised fuel costs from RM1.25 to RM1.45 per kilogramme for A, B and C zone boats, while C2 boats have to pay RM2 per kilogramme; and

• Regulations restricting use of foreign workers on B zone boats do not consider that 90 percent of workers in the industry are foreigners.

Receiving the memorandum, DAP’s Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang (second from right in photo) said the Pakatan MPs, especially those who count fishermen among their constituents, will approach Ismail on the matter.

Meanwhile, PAS Kuala Kedah MP Ahmad Kassim called for urgent action on the matter as it affected the national supply of protein.

Yesterday, 12 associations representing 8,000 fishermen with 2,000 boats in 20 fishing villages throughout Peninsular Malaysia said theywill not go to sea until a dialogue takes place.