Malaysian waters home to 1.8 million tonnes of fish

GEORGE TOWN: Studies by the Fisheries Department found that Malaysian waters have 1.8 million tonnes of marine fish valued at RM18 billion, which is sufficient to feed the entire population.
Fisheries director-general Datuk Ismail Abu Hassan said the department plans several strategies to increase the number of marine fish in order to export them and thus increase the fishermen's income.
"The strategies include sinking more artificial reefs to help increase the marine population and ban the use of nets with small mesh as they can lead to the extinction of fish species.
"Patrols have been increased to curb encroachment of Malaysian waters by foreign fishermen," he told reporters after a presentation on touch points to the Penang Fisheries Department, here today.
At the event, the Fisheries Department allocated RM130,900 to 124 aquaculture and fisheries entrepreneurs while 42 fish cage entrepreneurs received disaster relief worth RM21,000.
Last year, 1.9 million tonnes of fish worth RM13.7 billion were landed nationwide, up four per cent from that in 2015. — Bernama