Government to introduce guidelines for construction of modern fishing vessel

SERDANG: The government will introduce a guideline for the construction of modern fishing vessel in January next year in a bid to drive the deep sea fishing industry towards achieving the international standards.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the Marine Department, which is under the ministry, had been working with the Department of Fisheries in preparing the guideline which aimed to improve the capability of local fishing vessels and to ensure that it would meet the standards and requirements of importing countries.

The guideline will be issued by the Fisheries Department and will comprise 12 standards which are in line with the International Maritime Association, International Convention and International Association of Classification Societies codes, he told reporters after the pre-launch of the guideline at the Malaysian Agriculture, Horticulture and Tourism (MAHA) 2016 exhibition here yesterday. Liow said the quality of local fishing vessels was among the reasons the catch could not be exported to certain countries, like Japan and countries in the European Union.

“The cleanliness aspect of the toilets in the vessels and the ice cubes used by the fishermen, are also among the reasons our catch cannot be exported to certain countries,” he said.

Liow said with the guideline, the construction of fishing vessel would involve private investment, and the introduction of a special fund by financial institutions such as the Agrobank and SME Bank. — Bernama