Dept welcomes investment in deep-sea fishing – director
KOTA KINABALU: The State Fisheries Department said presently there are 51 deep-sea fishing vessels being operated by 11 licensed local companies in Sabah.
Its director Dr Ahemad Sade said that out of the 51 deep sea fishing vessels, 18 were locally-made and 33 were foreign-made from Vietnam which were operated by local companies from Sabah who had obtained the permits earlier from the department.
"However, from 2015, the acquisition of foreign-made vessels from Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, China and Brunei was stopped (by the department), but foreign-made vessels that have been approved before 2015 are still allowed to operate," he yesterday.
Ahemad said that based on the results of assessment of fishery resources conducted in Sabah waters recently, it showed that deepsea fisheries' resources, especially the pelagic fish species, still had a huge potential for exploitation.
"Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry Sabah through the Sabah Fisheries Department welcomes and supports any investor or company interested in venturing into the deep-sea fishing industry.
"However, certain criteria and current procedures must be followed before any consideration for approval is given," he said in a statement.
Ahemad reckoned that deep-sea fishing vessels were only permitted to operate in two operating zones, either in the West Coast or Tawau at a distance of 30 nautical miles and above from the beach.
"Of the 51 deep-sea fishing vessels, seven operate the seineharvester equipment, 11 trawlers and 33 rows."
He also said that starting from 2015, all deep sea fishing vessels in Sabah were required to install the Monitoring Tracking Unit (MTU).
"This tool can help to track the movement and position of the vessels at sea while operating and functioning as VMS (Vessel Monitoring System). As of today, 40 vessels have installed the MTU and 11 others are in the process of installation.
"In addition to MTU tool, a special marker is installed on each vessel intended to give a special introduction to each legally licensed vessel. In addition, the Fisheries Department has also required the installation of the IIVMS system (Intruder Intervension Vessel Monitoring System). IIVMS equipment that works better on commercial fishery vessels such as Trawlers and Seiters.
"So far more than 150 commercial fishing boats have been installed with IIVMS," he added.
Ahemad, meanwhile, cautioned that his department had the legislative powers in controlling the marine fishery industry in Sabah, namely he Fisheries Act 1985 (Act 317).
"Through the Fisheries Act 1985 (Act 317), foreign fisheries vessels caught in Malaysian waters may be penalized for a fine of RM1 million for shipowners or nakods while RM100,000 for each crew and the vessel will be forfeited for disposal."
On the issue of the landing of Sabah's marine products, he said the department's record had not shown any drastic decline, but it had remained very consistent in recent years.
He said based on the department's Annual Statistics Book for ten (10) years, from 2006 to 2015, the annual landing was estimated around 180,000 tonnes.
In comparison, the seaward landing for 2006 was 176,314 metric metric valued at RM530.6 million compared with the 2015's 175,443 metric tonnes valued at RM902.5 million.
"Through a sustainable fisheries resource management system it is the main goal of this marine treasure to maintain Sabah's status as a long-term fishery commodities net exporter and to have 100% of its fishery product SSL (Self Sufficient Level).
" Sabah will continue to be a fish products exporter in Malaysia with Balance of Trade (BOT) continues to show a positive impact in the range of over RM400 million RM500 million a year.
"In addition, the Sabah Fisheries Department will also establish a Fisheries Volunteer (SUPER), which is a pure collaboration effort from fishermen, especially commercial fishermen to be the eyes and ears of the department and other enforcement agencies in safeguarding and controlling the marine resources in Sabah," he said.