News

  • Nation
  • World Updates
  • Courts
  • Parliament
  • Columnists
  • Opinion
  • Honours List

Monday November 30, 2009

Extensive artificial reef plan


KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government plans to place artificial reefs along the state’s coastal waters under the 10th Malaysia Plan, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Yahya Hussin.

Yahya, who is the Agriculture and Food Industry Minister, said the move was to protect as well as to restore the state’s fishery resources.

This year, the state government allocated nearly RM2mil to implement an artificial reef project covering seven coastal districts like Putatan, Sipitang, Kuala Penyu, Tuaran, Kota Belud, Sandakan and Lahad Datu, he added.

“This project is one of the strategies to restore our coastal fishery resources which are on the decline. The Sabah Fisheries Department is actively placing these reefs in the state’s coastal waters,” he said when launching the Putatan artificial reef placement near here yesterday.

This project involved 50 artificial reefs costing RM500,000.

Yahya said the department had introduced new types of artificial reef which could last for 50 years and suitable for fish habitat.

He said the placement of concrete reefs was also to keep trawlers from encroaching into coastal areas.

He called on fishermen to help protect the reef areas from destructive activities such as bomb fishing.

Yahya said the state’s fishery resources were declining due to overfishing as well as the practice of using explosives.

This had greatly affected the income of coastal fishermen, especially traditional fishermen, who were mostly bumiputera, he added. — Bernama

  • E-mail this story
  • Print this story

News Poll