SERIAN: Sarawak is seeking to strengthen its capacity to manage and develop the state’s deep-sea fishing sector, particularly in expanding operations and improving industry participation.
Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom, said the state already has the authority to issue Category C2 deep-sea fishing licences under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
He said two licences have been issued so far but operations have yet to take off due to operational constraints faced by industry players.
“They cannot purchase vessels from countries such as Vietnam, Thailand or China due to security considerations,” he added.
“So they either have to build their own vessels or source them from other countries.”
Dr Rundi told the media this when visiting the A2 fresh milk processing facility operated by Ecofarm Solution Sdn Bhd at Kampung Panchor here today.
He said the proposed Sarawak Fisheries Department would help strengthen regulation of the sector while providing better support to industry players.
“We hope that with the new department, we can find better ways to regulate the sector and assist our fishing communities, who are still largely operating using traditional methods,” he added.
He also noted that the state has significant untapped potential in the marine fisheries sector, with a coastline stretching nearly 1,000 kilometres.
“There is a lot of potential to be tapped. Even neighbouring Brunei recognises this despite having a much shorter coastline,” Dr Rundi stressed.
“We cannot allow outsiders to harvest our marine resources while local players remain on the sidelines.”
