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

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

He claimed that he was not trespassing on land meant for private cockle farms.

Police released him and his family on the same day, but took away the 20kg bag of cockles that had been their whole day’s work.

“I just wanted to find food, I didn’t cause any trouble to anyone.

“I know I’m not wrong because I didn’t encroach on those areas,” he said, pointing to the dividers on the beach that separated a private cockle farm from public land.

Community leaders said Faizal’s case was not new, and represented the flawed way in which licences to catch fish and harvest cockles were distributed in the state.

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

They say those who have permits would rent them out to third parties, forcing unlicensed and poor fishermen to take the risk of collecting cockles illegally to support their families.

Collecting spats, or 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, who say cockles are their only source of income.

They are the poorest fishermen in Kuala Selangor, a parliamentary constituency represented by Irmohizam Ibrahim, who is also chairman of the Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM).

Frozen applications

Kg Batu 18 village committee member Abdul Shukor Mohamad said Faizal’s arrest was not an isolated incident.

Since last year, said Shukor, who is also a fisherman, seven to eight fishermen like Faizal were arrested for allegedly collecting cockles without licences.

However, he said, when poor fishermen tried applying for licences, they were told by LKIM that applications had been frozen.

“But at the same time, we know that there are many fishermen who have obtained these licences and don’t even go out to sea.

“But when there is a visit by a minister, or any assistance or allowance for fishermen, these people will come, including those who are no longer able to walk.”

LKIM has set up about 5 sq m along the coast of Kg Batu 18 as a cockle reserve.

Three individual lots have been allocated for private cockle farming.

The area is marked by steel and wooden poles, protruding out from the sea as boundaries between individual lots and public areas.

Recounting a meeting he had with LKIM, the village committee and a farm near where he was arrested, Faizal said the farm owner said he would put up signs to clearly demarcate his land.

Solvable problem

During a visit to Sg Sembilang, The Malaysian Insight spoke to a couple wearing T-shirts bearing the Barisan Nasional logo.

“Many of the fishermen who don’t have licences wear this T-shirt when they go out to catch fish,” said the man, in his 40s.

The fisherman said they did not have a licence, despite having been fishing for almost a decade.

He said many fishermen believed that they would not get fined if they donned BN T-shirts, as they would be seen as the ruling coalition’s supporters.

Village committee member S. Selvam said complaints have been lodged with the authorities, but the issue had yet to be resolved.

“This is not a big problem. It’s solvable. The ministry and department should come down and see how the fishermen live.

“It’s not that we want to lie to them about our living conditions. There’s no point in lying.”

A Fisheries Department officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said licence applications had been frozen because of supply issues.

A source from another agency, meanwhile, said claims that there were fishermen who did not go out to sea despite obtaining licences are true.

“The department can take action if there’s any complaint or proof submitted to the department,” said the source.

Fishermen who have LKIM licences are entitled to various benefits, including fuel discounts, aid to purchase boats and a monthly allowance. – February 18, 2018.