malaysiangPASIR GUDANG, Feb 27 (Bernama) — Fishermen who have been issued licences but not actively involved in fishing activities should surrender their licences to the Johor Fisheries Department immediately.
State Agriculture, Agro-Based Industry and Rural Development Committee chairman Datuk Zahari Sarip said the move was a process to find out the actual number of active fishermen in the state, so that the state government can channel initiatives to the right group.
“If there are any individuals who have left the fishing industry, they can return their licence to the department or if they have handed their licence to other parties, those who have these licences should bring them to the department for the registration process.
“This will make it easier for the state government to issue incentives and also give other fishermen an opportunity to apply for fishing licences,” he told reporters after officiating a programme to hand out boat licences in the district of Johor Bahru at Kampung Pasir Gudang Baru, here today.
He said after a ‘cleaning process’ was carried out throughout last year, the state recorded a total of 12,160 active fishermen involving 11,267 deep-sea fishermen and the rest coastal fishermen.
“There are about 100 more licences in the quota for fishermen, so if there are still applicants wanting to be fishermen, we can process them,” he said, adding that the licence not only gives them permission to be in the fishing waters, but also entitles them to receive a fisherman’s monthly allowance of RM300 and diesel subsidy.
Meanwhile, Zahari gave assurance that was sufficient supply of fish in the country now even though the monsoon season has just passed and involved floods in eight districts — Pontian, Kota Tinggi, Kluang, Segamat, Mersing, Batu Pahat, Muar and Tangkak — affecting more than 5,000 residents since Jan 24.
He said this was among several measures that have been taken to ensure there is no shortage of supply including reserving frozen fish as a contingency plan.
“At the end of last year, I visited a fish collection centre that is involved in catching fish for storage during the monsoon season. Based on the information received from the entrepreneur (of the collection centre), the supply of fish, especially in this state, was sufficient even though the monsoon season has just passed. However, prices may fluctuate,” he added.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
