Report: Deep-sea port harms Malacca fishing industry, marine ecology

 

Far East (Melaka) Sdn Bhd has submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, aiming to build a port city offshore of the central district of Malacca.

However, the report shows that the 1190-acre land reclamation project will disrupt the marine ecology, heavily reduce the fish catch and impact Malacca's fishing industry.

The EIA report states that the reclamation area is among the main fishing grounds for fisherfolk from Klebang to Serkam areas.

The EIA team points out that the loss of the intertidal area would limit their available fishing grounds, and therefore fisherfolk would have to move further out from the proposed project site to fish.

"This will lead to an increased operational cost, particularly fuel, which in turn will affect their productivity.

“There is also the possibility of conflict of interest as their encroachment into other grounds may not be welcomed,” the report states.

Citing data from the Department of Fishery, the EIA report indicates that the deep-sea port plan will impact 13 fishing villages and over 447 registered fisherfolk.

Fish catch declining over the years

The EIA report also states that the landings of the Acetes shrimp, which is an important ingredient for belacan and cincalok, have declined drastically in the past 30 years.

"Based on the Annual Fisheries Statistic data from 1991 to 2020, Acetes landings in Malacca showed a declining pattern. The highest landing was recorded in 1991 with 226 tonnes, landing trends plummeted with a drastic drop from 1995 (204 tonnes) to 1997 (36 tonnes).

“There were also several years where no landings were recorded, for instance, 2013, 2014 and 2016.

“The drastic decline in Acetes landings could be due to the heavily disturbed seabed along the shoreline, caused mainly by reclamation activities as well as other coastal developments,” the report states.

Besides fishing activities, aquaculture activities along the coastline are also affected, including horseshoe crab farming from Sungai Duyong to Pantai Siring, and Acetes shrimp farming from Parit Cina to Telok Mas.

"During the project implementation stage, the horseshoe crab and Acetes shrimp harvesting will be severely impacted, directly affecting the income and livelihood of fishermen involved in this activity in the area.

“After the reclamation is completed, the fishermen who are involved in Acetes shrimp harvesting will permanently lose a stretch of their fishing grounds at the reclamation footprint.”

Risks of ship collisions and pollution

In addition, the EIA report is concerned that there are risks of collisions between large vessels such as dredgers as well as sand carriers, and fishing ships.

The movements of the large vessels would also cause hindrances to the navigation of fishing boats in the area.

“There is a potential for accidents if appropriate measures are not taken.

“There is also a potential for the dredger to collide with and damage fishing nets during its movement back and forth from the sand source site,” the report notes.

The EIA report also points out that the spillage from the dredgers may harm plankton, macrobenthos and fish stocks.

Some experts are also concerned that affected fishermen may not receive compensation.

During the "Terms of Reference Adequacy (Torac)" meeting, Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Economics Department associate professor Abdul Rahim Abdul Samad asked how the developer would ensure that fishermen will receive proper compensation and how the fishing profession will still remain feasible after the project is completed.

The developer promised to set up a committee to handle complaints from fishermen and established a Community Grievances Management Committee to handle compensation mechanisms.

The company has also pledged to provide employment and business opportunities for fishermen and encourage them to participate in development sessions in the field of business, cooperatives and entrepreneurship.

"The proposed project is expected to open many job opportunities for locals, especially young people," the company said.

Loss of fish nursery ground

The EIA report also points out that the muddy seabeds within the proposed project area are important feeding grounds for fish species.

If these shallow waters are destroyed, the marine food webs and ecology will be disrupted.

The report highlights that the mudflats support a high biomass of micro and infauna organisms, while the mangroves support finfish and shellfish stocks.

However, the natural landscape will be “permanent and total loss” after the reclamation works are completed.

“Coastal shallows and intertidal zones are where the land and the sea meet, but when artificially separated, landward nutrients can no longer flow into coastal waters.

“It will threaten crabs, shrimp, clams and other organisms, which rely on this source of food.

“Collectively, the intertidal habitat is of great importance to large numbers of invertebrates and fish, supporting complex estuarine food webs and providing nursery and feeding grounds to a large number of fish species.”

The EIA team warned that the proposed deep-sea port would disrupt the marine food chain and impact the local fishery economy.

Nevertheless, Far East Melaka promised to improve coastal areas, restore beach and water cleanliness and to collaborate with the respective departments to deploy artificial coral reefs.

Worse traffic congestion

According to the EIA report, the deep-sea port is expected to be completed in 2028 and it is expected to worsen the local traffic conditions, leading to a lower quality of life for the local residents.

There are 57,646 residents near the deep-sea port, while 176,111 people live near the cruise terminal, which means that the lives of nearly 230,000 people would be affected.

"In general, the implementation of the proposed development will result in an increase of vehicular traffic and is expected to worsen the existing traffic congestion," the report said.

For example, the EIA team predicts that Crystal Bay Road near Alai currently has 565 vehicles during peak hours and when the project is completed, it will increase by six times (to 3,587 vehicles) during peak hours.

The report also predicts that traffic congestion in the Malacca town area will become more serious once the cruise terminal project is completed.

Members of the public can view this report and provide feedback on the official website of the Department of Environment. The deadline for feedback is today (Feb 2). The consulting company that conducted the EIA report is Dr Nik and Associates Sdn Bhd. - Mkini