According to a report from NSTOnline, hundreds of coastal fishermen struggling to fill their nets have this stark warning to the government: address pollution, mangrove loss and destructive fishing methods or coastal fisheries that supply over half the fish sold in markets today will end.
Two major groups of fishermen sent a memorandum to the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Ministry in November, along with a list of fish that they say are becoming scarce, reports NSTOnline. It includes several varieties of shark, rays, groupers and popular threadfins like senangin and kurau.
Their woes mirror worrying trends that researchers and fisheries experts have been highlighting in recent years.
An Asia-wide study by the World Fish Centre and Fisheries Research Institutes of Malaysia among others, found that over a 20-year period since 1971, the total biomass of fish at shallow depths along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia has plunged by about 90 per cent.
Troubling Times for Malaysian Fishermen
MALAYSIA - A collection of sustainable reports from Malaysian fishermen has indicated that coastal fisheries are fast depleting.
