SHAH ALAM, 27 Aug: The Federal Government needs to be more assertive in addressing the presence of foreign trawls that encroach national waters.
The Member of Parliament for Kuala Nerus, Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali, said that the issue of banning trawlers should be taken more objectively because it affects the ecosystem and damages the habitat of fishes.
He said that immediate action must be taken because the international community has discussed the problem of banning trawlers for almost a decade.
He said that the enforcers need to be more assertive in arresting and taking action against about 600 vessels of fishing trawlers that invade almost every year.
“Almost 175,000 metric tons of fish is caught per year by illegal trawlers.
“Decisive action must be taken against foreign trawlers that encroach the waters, especially in Sarawak,” he said in a press statement.
The government needs to be stricter in banning the vessels of trawlers that use sizes below 38 millimeters.
Apart from that, investigation must also be carried out in detail on the correlation of the demand of fish fry and the needs in the sector of the aquaculture industry.
“If the output of the aquaculture industry uses almost a million metric tons a year, then certainly the demand of fish fry will also be high.
“Indirectly, it makes the process of banning difficult, therefore the mechanism of alternative bio technology that is efficient must be developed to meet the demands of the aquaculture industry,” he said.
NS
