FISHERMAN Mohd Faizal Abdullah was busted by the cops who took away the only means he had of putting food on the table – catching cockles along the western shore of the country’s richest state, Selangor.

Fighting back tears, Faizal told of how he, his wife and six-year-old son were hauled up by the police as they were digging up cockles along the Sg Sembilang beach.

Faizal said he was not trespassing on land meant for private cockle farms. The police released him and his family on the same day but took away the 20kg bag of cockles that was their whole day’s work.  

Poor fishermen like Faizal says favouritism has resulted in people like him not being able to make an honest living from the seas off Kuala Selangor.

They claimed those who received permits would rent them out to third parties, forcing unlicensed and poor fishermen to take the risk of catching cockles without a licence to support their families. 

Collecting spats (young cockles) without a licence is an offence under the Fisheries Act. But this has not stopped some 50 unlicensed fishermen from the Sg Sembilang Jetty as they claim the cockles are their only source of income. 

They are the poorest fishermen in Kuala Selangor. – February 18, 2018.