SABAH is paying a price in reduced fish stocks and costlier seafood for failing to tackle the problem of licensed local fishing companies giving their leases to Vietnamese boats and crew to fish in Malaysian waters, local groups said.

These Malaysian firms must have their licences revoked now to stop the “stealing” of Sabah’s fish stocks, the Sabah Anglers’ Association said.

This demand follows a spate of arrests of more than 40 Vietnamese fishermen, which started in February this year, for various offences, including using prohibited fishing methods.

Association president Wilfred Lingam said stripping local companies of their fishing licences will prevent unsustainable fishing. It would also stop Sabah’s fish stocks from being “stolen” by foreigners, he added.

“These local firms are just ‘Ali Babas’ out for quick and easy money. Terminate all their licences,” he said.

“There is nothing special Vietnamese fishermen know that our local fishermen do not. In fact, Sabahans know their seas better,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Some of the illegal fishing methods used include drag nets, which destroys marine life indiscriminately, said Lingam.

Sabah Deputy Chief Minister, and Agriculture and Food Industries Minister, Yahya Hussin has been calling for drastic measures to be taken to stop foreign fishermen from intruding into Malaysian waters.

He said Sabah should emulate Indonesia’s practice of destroying impounded boats.

“It is a measure worth considering,” Yahya said at an event recently.

“It is up to the maritime authorities like the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), the navy and marine police to protect our borders and keep out these fishermen from fishing illegally,” he said.

However, Kota Kinabalu Fishing Boat Owners Association (KKFBOA) president Simon Hong believes the problem is more complex, because Vietnamese fisherman use local proxies that allow them to operate legally in Sabah waters.

The problem is licences for deep-sea fishing are only issued by the federal government, Hong said.

He said Sabah had two local companies with deep-sea fishing licences and resources, and alleged that they were behind the Vietnamese boats operating in Malaysian waters.

“There are an estimated 30 to 40 Vietnamese vessels operating with permits, with another 20 to 30 illegal vessels with about a 150-tonne capacity coming across from Vietnam,” Hong told The Malaysian Insight recently.

Sabah and Sarawak cannot issue deep-sea fishing licences because jurisdiction of the continental shelf off their coasts was taken over by the federal government, following the declaration of a state of national emergency after the May 13 riots in 1969. The two Bornean states can only issue licences for registered boats to fish up to 30nm from shore.

The Vietnamese boats and crew operating with Sabah registration numbers have mostly been found out in deep waters, where larger fish like tuna are caught. This year, local fishermen noticed that they were only able to net half their usual catch.

Hong said neither he nor his association members have ever seen Vietnamese fishermen land their catch at local landing jetties. This raised suspicions that catches were being transferred to bigger boats out in international waters.

“We used to be able to catch more than 100 tonnes of fish per month, but this has fallen to less than 50 tonnes from this year, which has been a bad year for us thus far.

“Some local fishing boats are losing money even though fuel prices are stabilising,” Hong said.

As a result, the price of fish has gone up by 60% in the past three months, he added.

The Sabah Anglers and KKFBOA have demanded the state government ban Vietnamese fishing boats.

The Malaysian Fisheries Department has predicted that the country will have no more fish by 2048 if illegal and unsustainable fishing methods continue. – July 29, 2017.