Fishermen baffled by poor daily catch

BALIK PULAU: Some 1,000 fishermen from Pulau Betong and Kuala Sungai Pinang are claiming dwindling financial returns due to low catch for the past one month.

They claimed they did not know the cause and hoped the authorities would carry out water quality analysis in the sea to get to the bottom of the matter.

Pulau Betong assemblyman Muhammad Farid Saad said some of them had stopped going out to sea as the money spent on petrol was more than their income.

“The fishermen claimed that they managed to catch only two to three prawns and very little fish nowadays.

“Their livelihoods have been affected severely,” he said after accompanying the fishermen out to the sea in Pulau Betong yesterday.

Muhammad Farid said that according to several fishermen, the anchors of their boats would be covered with black silt emitting foul smells.

He urged the National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia, the Fisheries Department, and the Department of Environment to conduct immediate investigations.