Ahmad Shabery speaking during the summit in Jakarta. On the left is Susi. — Bernama photo
JAKARTA: The Malaysian government is considering raising the annual licence fee for the country’s trawler fishing companies to fund deep-sea fishing research and development.
Malaysian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said deep-sea fishing had yet to provide the government with the anticipated appropriate returns since it was launched in the 1980s.
Therefore, the government planned to step up deep-sea fishing research and development and the revenue from trawler licence fees would help meet this cost, he told Bernama after attending the two-day Southeast Asia and Pacific Regional Fisheries Summit here.
“The annual licence fee of RM3,000 is too low in comparison to the lucrative income and profit derived by the trawler operators,” he said, adding that trawler fishermen were not taxed on their catches.
Ahmad Shabery said the government even provided subsidies to fishermen who landed their catches in Malaysia.
However, he added, the government found that trawler fishermen often employed foreign nationals as their crew and landed their catches in neighbouring countries for a bigger profit.
“They do not declare their actual catch to the government, and this is disappointing,” he said.
The minister said that allowing this situation to persist would only undermine government efforts to develop professional deep-sea fishermen from among Malaysians. — Bernama