WHILE paying RM14 to RM20 per kg for ikan kembung is the new normal, Malaysians have to brace for even higher prices of up to RM30 per kg once the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project takes off, said fishermen.

This scenario will happen in the next few years, said fishermen, when sand mining in Penang’s southern neighbour, Perak, begins to feed the massive project to create three man-made islands.

Perak’s fish breeding areas will take a hit as sand mining will be done near the Manjung coast, said Mansor Yusof of the Perak Fishermen’s Association.

Perak supplies 30%, the biggest chunk of all domestic fish landings in the country, according to data from the Fisheries Development Board (LKIM).

It won’t be ikan kembung alone that will see a decline in catch, but fish such as selar, black pomfret, sardines and other species popular with Malaysians, Mansor said. 

Once supplies of fish drop and demand remains high, prices will inevitably go up.

“Now, ikan kembung has hit RM20 per kg. It can hit RM30 per kg if the landings decrease drastically due to sand mining. 

“And even now, our landings are already decreasing,” Mansor told The Malaysian Insight.     

Mansor was among a few hundred fishermen from northern Perak and southern Penang who protested outside the Parliament gates last month against the PSR. 

Penang intends to use the three man-made islands, covering more than 1,800ha, to fund an ambitious RM46 billion Transport Master Plan.

The mega-land-reclamation project will see unintended impacts on the country, said green group Kuasa Perak.

“We thought that the project only impacted Penang and Perak but as we discover more and more of its details, it’s very apparent that it will indirectly affect the whole country,” said Kuasa Perak president Hafizuddin Nasaruddin.

Environmentalists and community groups have been opposing the PSR as well as the transport master plan, which includes cutting hills, building highways and an undersea tunnel connecting Penang island to the mainland.

Penang is already suffering from flash floods and landslides due to runaway construction, they said.

Suffocating sea life

Details of the sand mining to build the three islands were revealed in the project’s just released environmental impact assessment (EIA), said Hafizuddin.  

According to the EIA, more than 189 million cubic metres of sand would be needed and miners plan to extract this from four areas about 20 nautical miles from the Manjung coast. 

Mansor said sand mining destroys fishing grounds because the turbid water it produces suffocates sea life.

“It will also erode the coastline which will then destroy nearby mangrove forests which are important fish spawning areas,” Mansor added.

The association estimates that the livelihoods of about 6,000 fishermen in Perak will be destroyed as catches decrease.

According to LKIM’s 2017 market survey study, Perak contributed 256,622 of 851,217 tonnes or 30% of all fish caught and landed in Malaysia.

Sabah contributed the second largest amount of local landings at 138,650 tonnes or 16% of the national total.  

The value of Perak’s catch was RM627 million or 25% of the RM2.52 billion in fish caught that year, whereas Sabah’s was valued at RM407 million or 16%.   

According to a recent The Malaysian Insight survey of fish sold in selected wet markets and hypermarkets in the Klang valley, popular varieties, such as ikan kembung and cencaru, are sold for between RM14 and RM20 per kg and between RM5 and RM12 per kg respectively.

Fishmongers have warned that high prices for seafood are now the new normal due to declining local catches and a rise in imported fish. The ringgit’s depreciation has made such imports from Indonesia and Thailand a lot more expensive.

“As the catches decline in Perak, Malaysia will have to rely more and more on imported fish,” said Mansor. – July 23, 2019.