SOS: Save our seafood

WE Malaysians do love our seafood, from ikan bakar to chilli crab and everything in between.

Various lists have us at No. 5 in world consumption of seafood per capita and eating an average of 57kg per person annually.

That’s a lot of fish.

Yet, even as demand grows, the country’s marine resources are declining.

Climate change, of course, has a huge impact on global fisheries as oceans get warmer, corals are bleached dead, and marine fauna and flora die off.

While the world struggles to mitigate the climate crisis, in the shorter term we urgently need to address fisheries factors we can control directly and do something now about overfishing and illegal fishing (commonly known as IUU fishing – illegal, unregulated, and unreported).

The statistics speak for themselves: Malaysia loses 900,000 tonnes of seafood each year to illegal fishing, resulting in an economic loss estimated at between RM3bil and RM6bil.

The consequences are dire, as fish stocks have dwindled by a staggering 70% to 95% since the 1950s.

Overfishing, driven by our growing demand for seafood, has sadly become a self-inflicted wound.

Local fishermen often use unsustainable practices to meet short-term market demand while in the long term, fish populations plummet, threatening the delicate balance of the entire marine ecosystem in local waters.

While these fishermen certainly bear some responsibility, foreign trawlers engaged in illegal fishing magnify the issue.

The large-scale operations of these vessels that illegally enter our exclusive economic zones decimate fish populations and leave local fishermen with dwindling livelihoods – while consequently also burdening consumers with high prices and putting what was once an accessible source of protein beyond the reach of large parts of the population.

We must take decisive action to combat overfishing and illegal fishing now.

The government must strengthen enforcement efforts to curb illegal fishing activities, particularly by foreign trawlers – look into adopting innovative technologies to enhance surveillance, monitoring, and control mechanisms.

Collaborative partnerships with neighbouring countries and international bodies should be pursued to ensure effective regulation of fishing practices within Malaysian waters.

On the local front, we could offer economic incentives to get fisherfolk to use modern fishing techniques and equipment that minimise bycatch as ensuring sustainable harvesting practices can be pivotal in reviving our fish stocks.

Our fisheries management has to be more robust and include measures such as fishing quotas and closed seasons to allow fish populations to recover.

Raising awareness among consumers about responsible seafood consumption is also vital.

We can do our bit individually by only buying seafood produced sustainably and not buying overexploited species – however, this is an area that is badly lacking in awareness and sorely in need of education campaigns.

Preserving the health of our marine ecosystem is crucial not only for the livelihoods of fisherfolk but also for food security and the sustainability of our coastal communities.