PUTATAN: The recent strong winds and bad weather conditions that persisted for four days had adversely affected 10 full-time fishermen here.
“We were unable to go out to sea, hence for four days we earned nothing and brought nothing back to our families,” said one of the fishermen, Mickey Bolugu.
On a good fishing day, Mickey said he could earn about RM100 or more, but on bad days, his income would plummet to zero.
Fortunately, the bad weather conditions persisted only for a few days, he said.
The main problem faced by fishermen in Putatan is however not the weather.
Unsustainable fishing methods such as fish bombing by some irresponsible fishermen, the encroachment by deep sea fishing vessels into shallow waters and the presence of illegal fishermen comprising of foreign nationals are the main problems that hit the income and catch of the local shallow water fishermen here.
Fish bombing activities are still common near the Putatan shores and has resulted in depleting fish supply within the shallow fishing area.
As a result, shallow water fishermen like Mickey, has to travel further out to sea.
“Sometimes we have to travel 10 kilometers out to sea, which takes about an hour, depending on the engine horsepower,” he said.
He mentioned that despite efforts made to raise awareness on fish bombing, the activity still occurs.
He claimed that fish bombers have already decimated the 50 artificial reefs established by the government in one of its project some three years ago. Also affected are the artificial reefs established near Pulau Dinawan.
He added that it was not uncommon for them to meet with the fish bombers, but stated that they were helpless and could not do anything to stop them.
“They have more than one fish bombs onboard. If they throw one at us, that would be the end of us. Unless our police or marine enforcements act, there is nothing much that can be done,” he said.
Deep sea fishing vessels are also encroaching at areas meant for smaller fishing boats, he said.
“We have to compete with them for fish. Additionally, we also have to compete with unlicensed fishermen, comprising mainly of foreigners.”
He said he hoped the government would be able to address the problems faced by the licensed small fishing boat operators.
Additionally, he also asked the relevant authority to provide assistance in the form of fishing nets to them.
“The last time we got such an assistance was three years ago. The fishing nets last less than a year, and we constantly have to mend them after fishing. After several mends, they become lesser and lesser efficient in catching fishes,” he said.