MIRI: Boundaries around the Miri-Sibuti Coral Reefs National Park need to be clarified to minimise confusion among local fishermen who frequent the area.
In bringing this matter up, the secretary of the Sarawak Fishing Vessel Association (SFVA), Harry Tan Joo Seng, said today during a press conference held here that there should be clear communication between the fishing community conservation authorities when establishing marine protected areas for conservation purposes.
The press conference was held after a local fishing vessel got detained near the national park on January 13 this year. The association argued that the detention was unlawful.
The vessel, with five crew members onboard, was detained by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) for allegedly encroaching into the national park.
“Clear guidelines on boundaries can end or prevent conflicts between the conservation authorities such as Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) and the local fishing community,” he said.
Tan claimed that the fishermen did not know where the actual boundaries were and therefore did not know specifically where they are allowed or not allowed to fish.
“We want a win-win situation to resolve these issues,” he said, adding that in the latest case, the vessel owner incurred losses of more than RM90,000.
“There was confusion over the boundaries of the park whereas the boat captain thought they were not breaking any law,” Tan explained.
Prompted by the arrest, the association on January 17 met with SFC and Minister of Transport Datuk Sri Lee Kim Shin to resolve the issues.
“However, we have not received any update on the outcome of the discussion,” Tan said.
The association wanted to stage a peaceful protest on February 16 in front of SFC’s Miri office but an application for permission to do so was rejected by the authority concerned.
The Miri-Sibuti Coral Reefs National Park is the largest offshore national park in Sarawak at 186,930 hectares.
