Something is fishy

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Give them the tools that they need to do a better job. – File photo

I MUST protest – as a seafood freak. Protest number one.

I have been paying for fish more than I can afford. A tiny ‘Ikan Senangin’, must have been frozen for ages, sold at the Stutong Market cost me RM18 the other day.

This is the time of year when fish and other seafood should cost less than normal. The economists say the pricing has something to do with ‘Supply and Demand’. The period from November to February each year – landas in the local fishermen’s lingo – is a time of scarcity of fish caught. Many local fishermen stay at home to mend their nets but it’s quality time to be together with their families. Whatever the economists say, I say it is fishy.

I have read about tonnes of fish, having been caught by foreign fishermen and having been confiscated by the Marine Enforcement Agency, and yet there has been nothing about how the fish was disposed of. Were they sold by public auction or how?

I was explaining to my grandson, a fishing enthusiast, how easy it is to land fish without going out to the sea. There’s a lot of catching on the open sea: the fishermen catch the fish then the ‘fishing police’ (MMEA) catch the fishermen! And we have fish in the market. He was puzzled.

Heard of traffic police, yes, fishing police, not really.

Apparently, this catching game has been going for years but getting more frequent since 2006, when we began to discover large fleets of fishing vessels around our shoals. Last year, an armada of 100 fishing ships from a foreign country were allegedly picnicking around our Beting Patinggi Ali, off Bintulu.

This year has been a good season for the foreign fishermen at our front door – mostly from Vietnam. Others included Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines – all in all coming to 1,502, over a period of time. Result: expensive fish for the local consumers.

Last week, The Borneo Post’s anchor at Miri fished out a report from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA). According this report, some 70 tonnes of fish of all descriptions and worth a whooping RM500,000 were found in the holds of two foreign vessels, registered in Vietnam, but for the purpose of fishing in Malaysian waters off Miri, fake licence numbers were used by them to fool the MMEA.

At this juncture, may one ask: Whose fishing vessels are these that bear the Licence Numbers SF2-3728 and SF2-4049? The authorities should disclose the owners of the vessels and the names of the licence holders in Malaysia. If they are false, tell us the truth.

The two vessels were towed to port for detention under the Fisheries Act 1985. Then there was no news about how the case developed. Where are the crew members?

Those without Malaysian identification papers must be citizens of other countries and

as such are plainly intruders. Since they have violated our national sovereignty, does anybody other than MMEA officials know what punishment has been meted out to the trespassers?

Why the silence on the seafront?

For this silence, I protest. Protest number two.

Confiscated fish should be auctioned off and sold in the open market at reasonable price. If sold to the successful bidder, then where did the money go?

More important than the price of fish

I think that in this problem of encroachment by the foreign fishermen there’s more than meets the eye.

I’m complaining about how easy it has been for them to catch our fish, using trawlers with nets that sweep the seabed, and to get away with the loot. With impunity.

Why do we allow ourselves to be bullied by the foreigners?

They have trespassed on our territorial waters. When we chase them, they move over to international waters and say goodbye, laughing all the way to the bank.

Then they will come back and do the same thing, again. And there seems to be very little that we can do other than arrest the crew and detain the vessels.

Are they really fishing or doing something sinister?

I dread to think of a distinct possibility in terms of security threat; for the seafront is the front door of our country. Memories are still fresh of the Japanese Imperial forces coming from the sea and landing at Miri in 1941 and later at Sibu Laut before reaching Kuching.

I presume that the relevant authorities dealing with foreign affairs have complained quietly to the countries whose vessels have been exploiting our natural resources. But the ordinary mortals know almost nothing about those complaints, if any. We are being kept largely in the dark over an important matter – the national interests.

Why are we keeping quiet while our security is being compromised?

I do not understand all this silence. So I detest the daylight robbery and I’m deeply worried. What if …

You should forget about my first protest (not thinking about my Senangin; it has been salted away anyway) but think seriously of the second.

I can do without fish for a few days but I can’t stomach the encroachment of our territory by non-citizens by sea, or for that matter, by land or by air.

I must say that the MMEA has done a good job with the present strength and with the present size of assets in overseeing a long coastline. They have to cover an area equivalent to 40 per cent of the coastal waters of Malaysia. I’m sure both MMEA and the Marine Police have been working hand in glove to protect our waters.

They must be given all the necessary assets and the latest surveillance equipment if we want them to prevent the foreign fishermen from further exploiting our natural resources.

If the MMEA personnel ask for a couple of landing craft – a requirement that they think is necessary for the moment – well, we will have to find the money somehow for the acquisition of the assets.

That’s the minimum tool that they need to be effective in policing the whole length of the coast from Tanjung Datu to Kuala Baram. They need the craft at sea, day and night, for up to 20 days rather than a few days, at a stretch.

Think of the situation in which our sailors are in: bobbling up and down on the sea day and night, at the mercy of the weather, but for the King and country, they have to endure the hardship.

So give them the necessary tools and they will do better in their tugas (job) than they are now.

I have read into their recent press statements and hear their messages loud and clear: they have more than they can chew with the current staff strength and present assets to really do a good job in overseeing a long coastline.

Repeat, ignore my complaint about expensive fish in the market. One little Senangin or a ton of them is not as important as the security of this beautiful land.

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