Over 100,000 metric tonnes of lost catch due to IUU fishing

JAKARTA: Illegal, unregulated and unreported ( IUU) fishing has cost Malaysia to lose about 108,000 metric tonnes of fish landing valued at RM1.1 billion in 2015, said the Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek yesterday.

He said the report of the loss was according to an estimate by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

“IUU fishing undermines sustainability and threatens food security, and everyone has a role to play to address this challenge. Malaysia strives to ensure that the sanctions provided for in the domestic legislations are adequate, and deprive IUU actors from benefitting from their illegal activities”, he said during the Ministerial Meeting of the SouthEast Asia and Pacific Regional Fisheries Summit here.

The two-day Summit, organised by The Economist, was attended by ministers and officials from countries in the region.

Shabery said, from 2012 to 2015 in accordance with Section 15(2) of the Fisheries Act 1985, Malaysia

IUU fishing undermines sustainability and threatens food security, and everyone has a role to play to address this challenge. Malaysia strives to ensure that the sanctions provided for in the domestic legislations are adequate, and deprive IUU actors from benefitting from their illegal activities. Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

had issued an order to deny the use of her ports by 36 foreign flagged IUU fishing vessels out of which six have been prosecuted in the same period for violating several laws and regulations.

Earlier, Shabery led the Malaysian delegation at a bilateral meeting with the Indonesian Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Susi Pudjiastuti.

Both ministers reaffirmed the commitment to further strengthen relationship in fisheries, especially in fighting IUU fishing and collaboration in the advancement of the sector.

The countries are expected to announce an important development in this collaboration during the Malaysian Prime Minister’s visit to Indonesia later this week.

Malaysia has a maritime exclusive economic zone ( EEZ) of about 380,000 km2 and fisheries production in 2015 was about 2 million metric tonnes valued at RM12.7 billion.

Out of which 75 per cent was marine capture and 25 per cent was from aquaculture.

During the same period, the country exported RM2.8 billion worth of fisheries products and imported RM3.8 billion.

Among Malaysian delegates joining the summit were Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Badrul Hisham Mohd and Director- General of Fisheries Datuk Ismail Abu Hassan. — Bernama