IN his family’s 40 years of fish farming, Heng Seng Chew has never seen a storm like the one that hit Penang on November 4 and 5.

The winds were so strong that they damaged the marine fish cages in his farm.

“When I was alerted to the strong winds early on Sunday morning, it was too late. The wind was so strong that nobody could get out to the farms.

“We had to wait out the storm. By the time we got to the farms, we had lost our fish,” the Bukit Tambun Fish Farmers Association chairman told The Malaysian Insight.

Winds at 40mph caused serious damage to fish farms that dot the coast between Batu Kawan in southern Seberang Prai and Pulau Aman, where pricey fish like sek pan (grouper), ang cho (golden snapper), and ikan merah (red snapper) are bred.

Strong waves smashed into the cages, causing nets to tear and allowing the fish to escape into the sea.

To add insult to injury, fish farmers say some people took advantage of the situation to “rob” them.

“The worst thing was that outsiders came with their nets to catch our fish. The farmers were assessing their damaged farms, while others helped themselves to the fish.

“I don’t know who they were. Some people just know where to go to make money,” said 45-year-old Heng.

Another fish farmer Mohd Noor Abd Rahim also said some outsiders went as far as fishing the fishes out of cages that were still intact.

Heng said some farm owners have lodged police reports but none of them had high hopes that anything would come out of it.

Huge losses

Penang’s marine aquaculture sector netted RM55.9 million in losses, the hardest hit among the state’s agricultural industries.. Seven people, most of whom were elderly, died in the floods.

State agriculture and agro-based industries executive councillor Dr Afif Bahardin said the agricultural sector, as a whole, lost an estimated RM77.65 million.

Fish farmers in Heng’s area alone estimate their losses to total some RM40 million. Twenty-six farmers in the area have been hit, and the bigger players are looking at losses in the millions of ringgit.

One farm, Heng said, had more than 100 cages, with each having about 2,000 fish that could be worth RM20,000, or more.

“One cage can also hold up to 4,000 fish fry. How are farmers going to recover when even their ‘anak ikan’ are gone. Some may not have the money to recover.”

Two farms lost everything, Heng said, adding that it was possible some farms would fold up after this.

“It is possible we are looking at a total loss of RM40 million. For some, starting again from scratch will be very hard.

“Fish feed alone will cost RM300,000 to RM400,000. We also have to pay the salaries of the foreign workers,” he said, adding that thankfully no owner or worker was hurt in the storm.

Heng himself has four farms and lost 45% of his fish. He estimates his losses to be about RM6 million.

“Many of us rear good fish for local and international customers. Big fish like grouper, and golden and red snapper.

“Big ones take two years to grow before we can sell them. The smaller fish take a few months. Years of work, all gone in one night,” he said.

Noor, who had 100 cages of fish, was expecting losses of up to RM200,000. He also lost 200 cages he recently bought used.

“I have not put fish into the new cages yet. They must have sunk. I couldn’t find any trace of them.”

He said he could start his operations again if there was government help.

“If not, I will have to do it slowly, starting small,” said Noor who also offers sport fishing at his farm.

No insurance

Heng also said none of the fish farmers had insurance to cover their losses.

“This is a business that faces sea conditions. Fish also die of disease and parasites. How do you get coverage for all that?”

Heng said fish farmers were now doing whatever repairs they could afford while praying for government aid.

The association spoke to the state government earlier last week and the federal fisheries department about the farmers’ predicament.

As yet, there is no update or decision on whether they would receive any aid.

For now, Heng said it would help if the Penang Water Supply Corporation could channel clean water from Pulau Aman to the farms for the use of workers and farm maintenance.

“All this time, we have had to transport barrels of water to our farms. We send some 50 barrels a day. It is expensive with fuel costs going up.

“If we can get water from Pulau Aman, it will be a great help. Water is more important than electricity,” he said.

The fresh water is needed for the workers, who live on the floating farms, to wash, drink, cook and “bathe” the fish.

“The fishes have to be cleaned during parasite season. Otherwise, they will get sick and die,” he said.

Supply shortage

Heng said the farmers hope the government would hear their plea for help.

“Our losses will lead to a low supply of fish on the market. We could use some support now,” he said.

State exco Dr Afif said fish farmers were entitled to the one-off RM700 cash aid, which the state government planned to pay before the year ended.

“The state is planning to exempt their TOL (temporary occupational license) fee payments. That is being worked out,” he told The Malaysian Insight in a text message.

The TOL exemption may save the fish farmers a few hundred to a few thousand ringgit, depending on the size of their farms.

The storm earlier this month was Penang’s worst in 30 years Over 12,500 people were evacuated from their homes and an estimated 100,000 households were affected by the disaster. – November 19, 2017.