NGOs call on Penang to respect, protect rights and livelihood of small-scale fishermen

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Tolak Tambak and Koalisi Selamatkan Teluk Jakarta have called on the government to respect and protect the livelihoods of small-scale fishermen, to safeguard publicly-owned resources that are collectively used and managed by small-scale fishing communities and to strengthen their use and tenure rights when necessary.

In a press statement Thursday (Nov 21), read by Penang Fishermen Association chairman Nazri Ahmad, the organisations urged policy makers and relevant agencies to adopt the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) voluntary guidelines for securing sustainable small-scale fisheries in the context of food security and poverty eradication.