Fanli Marine and Consultancy Sdn. Bhd., 27-3 Dataran Prima, Jalan PJU 1/42A, 43100 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

^*Corresponding author: fanli@tm.net.my

Abstract

   Marine capture fisheries constitute an important sector in the Malaysian economy; not only as a major food source but also as a generator of foreign exchange and employment. In 2000, per capita fish consumption in the country was 58 kg, making fish a strategic food commodity (Earth Trends, 2003). Fish catch in the same year amounted to 1,231,289 tonnes valued at RM4.17 billion (UD$1.1 billion) or 1.54% of GDP (Department of Fisheries, 2003). Overall, marine fish catch in the country increased 26% in the 1990s, from 911,933 tonnes in 1991 to 1,231,289 tonnes in 2001 (Department of Fisheries, 1992; 2003). In terms of value, the increase amounted to 55.6%, from RM1.85 billion to RM4.17 billion.
There are four major fishing grounds in the country; i.e. the waters of the West and East Coasts of Peninsular Malaysia and those off Sarawak and Sabah states. The government defines resources within 30 nautical miles from the shore as coastal, and those beyond that as deep sea or offshore. The resources in these grounds can be further categorised as demersal and pelagic. Demersal catch revolves around a multitude of species, none of which are individually dominant. On the other hand, though the pelagic species count is much smaller, many of them are of major economic concern. In general, most of the fishing grounds in Peninsular Malaysia are located mainly in the shallow waters in depths less than 40m, and lie relatively close to mangroves (Arshad et al., 1997).
Coastal resources are exploited by both commercial and traditional fishing gear, while deep-sea fisheries are harvested mainly by larger commercial boats. Commercial gears consist of the trawl and purse seines, while traditional or artisinal fishing gear consist largely of drift/gill nets, hook and line and bags nets. Although the artisinal gear outnumber the commercial gear, the latter accounts for almost 70% of the national catch.
In 2001, there were about 84,496 licensed fishers in the country and at least as large a number in associated industries. The number of licensed fishers has declined 6.9% over the 1990's, though there are a still large number of unlicensed, part-time fishers. Part of this decline can be attributed to an active Government policy to reduce underemployment and fishing effort, particularly in the artisinal fisheries.
In addition, the rapid economic growth in recent years has resulted in a significant movement of rural manpower to industrial and urban centres, leaving a declining and aging population of fishers in the industry, particularly where the coastal fisheries are concerned. On the other hand, the offshore fishery is still relatively small though substantial Governmental efforts are being invested in pushing for a "blue water" fisheries fleet. The major problems in the growth of the offshore fishery relate not only to basic issues such as infrastructure, capital and skills, but also to the need to compete with advanced fishing nations such as Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia.
This report attempts to provide a broad overview of the fishing industry in Malaysia, particularly in relation to the health of the resources on which it is dependent. It also points out the constraints and contradictions in present resource management regimes and attempts to indicate a way forward in resolving some of them.