Call for immediate action against illegal fishing vessels

KOTA KINABALU: The MP for Kota Kinabalu Jimmy Wong urged the government to take immediate and stern action against illegal fishing vessels encroaching into Sabah waters.

“The Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Pang Yuk Ming said three foreign vessels have been identified to be involved in fish bombing in our waters and the fish were processed to make canned food,” he said in a press conference here.

Jimmy, who is also Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sabah advisor, said the encroachment of illegal vessels into our waters was a serious issue which he had brought up in the Parliament.

He said the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim had promised to take stern action against these illegal vessels and subsequently two of these vessels were seized and held at Sepanggar.

However, Jimmy said the two detained fishing vessels had yet to be destroyed, nor were the operators being charged in court.

He said the Kota Kinabalu Fishing Boat Owners Association (KKFBOA) had handed him another memorandum on Tuesday for the inaction.

Jimmy said the issue of fish bombing not only happened in Kota Kinabalu, but also in Semporna.

“Semporna is currently a tourism hotspot which attracts thousands of Chinese tourists.” He said fish bombing would destroy the corals and breeding grounds of fish, thereby affecting our tourism.