Fishing Ban in Zone 1 from January 1 Next Year
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, 20
March 2007, Tuesday - The Fisheries Department has identified Zone 1,
three nautical miles off the shores of the sultanate, as the 'over
fishing' area where a temporary ban will be imposed from January 1,
2008.
Speaking to The Brunei
Times, Officer Awg Matzaini bin Hj Juna from the Fisheries Department
said, to check overfishing in Zone 1 a temporary ban will be imposed to
sustain the availability of marine resources.
He said overfishing in Zone
1 was very much evident, and to minimise its impact measures in the form
of transferring fishing activities to other zones are going to be
implemented by the department.
The temporary ban on any
fishing activity in Zone 1 for a certain period of time is aimed at the
marine resources achieving full recovery, said the officer in a
presentation to commercial small-scale fishermen, penghulu mukims, and
heads of villages of the Brunei-Muara district during the Roadshow on
the Implementation of Moratorium on Fishing Operation in Zone 1
yesterday, at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources.
The temporary ban will come
into effect from January 1, 2008 and through roadshows conducted by the
department in all districts, the fishermen and the public will be
informed about the impact of overfishing.
Awg Matzaini said that from
1980 to 2000 the fisheries department had witnessed a decline of 43
percent in marine resources, indicating over fishing in the area.
The research conducted by
the department found the licences issued for a range of fishing gears
have exceeded the allocated numbers of fishing gears able to operate in
Zone 1.
A fisherman, Hj Junaidi,
from one of the sultanate's capital's wet markets told The Brunei Times
that imposition of the temporary ban would be effective in reducing over
fishing.
He said the fishermen who
fished in the area identified as Zone 1 have expressed concern over the
volume of fish caught in the area.
"Fishermen should abide by
the department's temporary ban, so there will be more fish to catch in
the future," the fisherman said.
According to Southeast
Asian Fisheries Development Centre (SEAFDEC) website, (www.map.seafdec.org),
the small scale fisheries sector of the sultanate had provided about 50
per cent of the country's supply of fish for the last 20 years. These
fishermen who operate in Zone 1, are using outboard engines to reach the
fishing destination. They are equipped with small-scale fishing gears
which range from trammel nets and lines to modernised electronic devices
such as the application of GPS, echo sounder and fish finder.
- Courtesy of
The Brunei Times -
