Penang south fishermen's future lies in the prospect of reclamation project - A response to The Asean Post's article on Penang South Reclamation

by Joshua Woo A recent article about Penang's marine life in The Asean Post has given wrong impression about a reclamation proposal and the fisheries condition in the State. ('Penang's new islands will kill marine life,' 23 June 2019) I would like to provide facts to correct the article's misleading portrayal of the matter.

1) Exaggeration of fishermen's plight

The article states that "The proposed area for the artificial islands is currently the place where most fishermen around the state coastline live and work. Objections have come from this group of fishermen whose livelihoods and villages are threatened most by this project." (Emphasis added)

This is wrong as the number of fishermen living in Barat Daya district, where the reclamation site is located, is 912 out of 2,905 registered fishermen in Penang. That means most of the fishermen are living at other coastline in the State, not at the reclamation site.

Besides exaggerating the number of fishermen staying near the reclamation site, the article also exaggerates their objections. More than 50 percent of the fishermen staying there actually support the reclamation project.

The approving voices of the fishermen who support the project is surprisingly neglected in the article.

2) Ignoring actual threat to marine life

The article's single-minded criticism of the future threat to the marine life is absolutely blinded to the fact that marine life in the area is already depleting due to overfishing, even before a single grain of sand is dropped into the sea for reclamation.

Fisheries Department director-general Datuk Munir Mohd Nawi had acknowledged this matter late last year, that the depletion of fishes was due to overfishing. Of the 7,800 marine species around the world, 90 percent were fully fished or overfished.

In Penang, the destruction of sea bed at the reclamation site has been happening due to overfishing through destructive fishing method such as the usage of coastal seine nets locally known as 'pukat tunda.'

Overfishing in Penang was so critical that in 2015 the fisheries department had to restrict the issuance of licence to fishing vessels, reducing them by 30 percent. This happened before any reclamation took place.

Who caused overfishing? It was the fishermen. Definitely not the reclamation as the project hasn't even started.

The Asean Post's article highlighted the concern for marine life and livelihood of the fishermen while blinded to the fact that it was the latter that had destroyed the former, and conveniently blamed a reclamation proposal that hasn't even begin.

3) Future of Penang south

The future of the southern part of Penang is in the successful implementation of the Penang South Reclamation scheme (PSR).

The project will create jobs for the fishermen in the overfished area. The two stakeholders' engagement centres ('Pusat Perkhidmatan Setempat Nelayan') set up in the fishermen's villages are already registering fishermen for jobs.

The PSR will also rejuvenate marine life in the destroyed sea bed through the installation of artificial reefs and eco-engineering, which is a proven mitigation method.

These and other effective action plans were already made public during the month-long display of the Environmental Impact Assessment report. Anyone who cares enough to write an article about these concerns related to the project shouldn't have missed the executive summary.

The development on the reclaimed islands will expand the economic opportunities for the fishermen, improving their social mobility. The future of the southern fishermen lies in the prospect of the reclamation project.

The author is a former councilor of Seberang Perai Municipal Council.

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