JAKARTA: Malaysia has expressed the desire to emulate Indonesia’s radical measures against poaching that have resulted in bountiful catches for the local fishermen and reduced prices of fish for consumers.
Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said, however, that Malaysia would not burn the seized illegal fishing vessels but would sink them to form artificial reefs to encourage fish breeding.
“We notice that Indonesia’s radical measures against poaching had contributed to deflation and lowered fish prices due to bountiful catches,” he told Bernama after attending the two-day Southeast Asia and Pacific Regional Fisheries Summit here.
Ahmad Shabery said Malaysia would opt to sink seized illegal fishing vessels to make them artifical reefs to protect the environment from pollution and prevent harm to the marine eco-system.
The minister also said that Malaysia could not be the advocate for its fishermen who trespass into the waters of other countries, and it was for this reason that Malaysian fishermen were required to use the radar system to determine their position at sea at all times.
He said the radar system was a mandatory requirement for Malaysian fishing vessels and the authorities would not accept the excuse from arrested fishermen that the system on their boats was faulty.
Indonesian Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti said the authorities had seized and burned hundreds of foreign fishing vessels caught poaching in the country’s waters over the past two years.
The trespassing fishermen were prosecuted and imprisoned, she said. — Bernama