SABAH is working towards ensuring sustainable fish stock in its waters by banning the use of fishing trawlers to curb reef destruction and catching of juvenile fish, said state Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Junz Wong.

Several policies are currently being discussed by his ministry for a Sabah Agriculture Blueprint to be launched at the end of the year, he said.

“At present, we rely too much on the federal Fisheries Act, and the existing state enactment still has many incomplete areas.

“For instance, there is no standard on the size of fish that can be caught. 

“We should not catch juveniles as well as fish with eggs, as it will destroy the seafood stock,” Wong told reporters after launching a prepaid water supply system for Gaya Island residents today.

By formulating its own fishing laws, the state can also start its shark conservation programme, he said.

“The time will come but it is still too early to put on a ban on shark fishing or hunting,” he said. 

The federal Fisheries Department recently voted against the protection of sharks and rays under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites).

The department said this was because these fish are not considered “targetted species”, but are obtained by catch, meaning that they are caught unintentionally when other species are targetted.

Wong, however, said most Sabah hotels had already banned sharks’ fin dishes from their menus but believed shark meat is still exported out from Sabah as they fetch a high price in the black market.

On another development, Wong said the number of fish bombing cases has greatly reduced since the last incident, which killed two tourist divers and a master diver in Semporna in July.

“The authorities have conducted a lot of operations and raids at present. 

“But I believe the penalty for fish bombing still needs to be stiffer under the law as a deterrent,” he said. – September 3, 2019.