Regulate sport fishing to save stock

Anglers fishing for ikan patin during a competition at the Gunung Lang recreational park in Ipoh. - Filepic

KOTA KINABALU: The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia wants recreational fishing to be regulated in view of the declining fish stocks in the country.

WWF executive director Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma said it was important to regulate the activity which was becoming a popular pastime among citizens and tourists.

“There is no database for the management of recreational fishing activities and the Malaysian marine fish stocks are severely depleted. In some active fishing areas, it has been seen to be reduced by as much as 90% of stocks in 1971.

“WWF-Malaysia supports any effort to regulate recreational fishing urgently to address the issue of declining fish stocks,” he said.

Dr Dionysius suggested that regulations should include specific licensing conditions for the various types of recreational fishing with licensing conditions to also provide for bag limit, catch size limit (minimum size of individual fish caught), catch and release and permitted species (avoid threatened species), among others.

“There should also be fishing gear restrictions such as hook types, quota for both individuals and fishing events (limit on total kilograms of fish caught), prohibition of recreational fishing in no-take zones and special licence for vessels to carry recreational fishermen,” he said.

Dr Dionysius explained that while commercial fishing activities had been largely responsible for the removal of juvenile fish and directly causing the decline in fish population, recreational fishing activities compounded this decline with the removal of “mega spawners”, which are large, mature fish, the source of brood stock for the rejuvenation of the fish population.

“This situation has been gradually worsening since 1997,” he said.

Dr Dionysius said cooperation was required from government agencies and the public sector, especially recreational fishermen and angler associations.

“We call upon all to make a concerted effort to adhere to a robust recreational fishing regulation to sustain our nation’s fisheries, protect diverse marine habitats and ecosystems and conserve our marine cultural heritage for future generations,” he added.