Studies show that more than two-thirds of the world’s fisheries have undergone over-fishing or are completely harvested while the rest are in declining condition.
Sahabat Alam Malaysia president Meenakshi Raman said that in Malaysia, trawlers and illegal fishing nets were among the main factors in the decline of marine resources.
These trap young fish that have no commercial value unlike mature fish and fry, she said in a statement marking World Fisheries Day celebrated annually on Nov 21.
Trawlers and illegal nets damage the seabed and marine life breeding areas.
Trawlers cause conflict and tension with coastal fishermen as they often infiltrate coastal catchment areas and damage fishing gear there.
Meenakshi said that in addition, serious attention should be given to encroachment by foreign fishermen, especially in the waters off the east coast of Malaysia.
The encroachment in the waters off Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang is costly.
The invasion of foreign fishermen from neighboring countries, especially Vietnam, has caused the country to lose about RM6bil a year.
The use of trawlers by foreign fishermen threatens the safety of local fishermen, she said.
Meenakshi welcomed the move by the Fisheries Department to increase fishery resources through the use of artificial reefs.
These artificial reefs will be a good breeding ground for fish.
The reefs will serve as a barrier, helping to stop trawler fishing activities in the coastal zone.
The disposal of confiscated boats using the sinking method will benefit fishermen as the sunken boats will become new fishing habitats.
This will add to the total number of fish breeding areas, she said.
She also hoped efforts to preserve mangrove forests would be intensified.
Existing mangrove forests need to be maintained and well-preserved.
Deteriorated areas need replanting and treatment.
Mangrove forests are a habitat for marine life to breed.
They are essential to the life cycles of young fish, shrimp and crabs.
At the same time, mangrove saplings are one of the best plants in stabilising the Earth’s temperature and controlling global warming, she said.