Fishery resources may become extinct if fishermen don’t cooperate with the government to retain existing resources, said director-general of Fisheries Department Datuk Ahmad Sabki Mahmood.
In the last 40 years, fishery resources in Malaysian waters had declined significantly from 2.56 tonnes per sq km in 1971 to only 0.21 tonnes per sq km in 2007.
“However, ikan kembung is still abundant but other wildlife species like dugong are depleted,” he told reporters at a Marine Resources Management Care Programme in Kuala Sungai Baru near here on Monday.
He said although fish can reproduce naturally, uncontrolled catch activities can lead to the extinction of marine life.
Excessive exploitation of breeding grounds like coastal areas and pollution due to industrial waste and oil spills also lead to decline in marine resources, he said.
To this end, the government has introduced the Rakan Ikan programme where fishermen would inform information authorities of activities that could harm fishery resources.
Sabry said last year, 160,000 tonnes of fish worth RM710mil were landed in Perlis to make the state the second largest producer of fish after Perak.
However, catch in the last four years had declined between 2.3 percent and 10.2 percent, from 193,800 tonnes in 2007 to 160,000 tonnes in 2010, he said.
