No fish in the market tomorrow!

The local fishermen in Miri are going on strike tomorrow to draw attention of the public to their plight, which they claimed had been ignored. All unsold fish will be taken off the stalls, refrigerated and re-sold after the proposed strike.

Although the government helps them with a RM200 monthly subsidy and other assistance, th local fishermen said it is not sufficient in view of the hight costs of fuel and vessel maintenance. In light that oil prices have dropped, but subsidised fuel has not been reduced, the burden is on the fishermen to contend with reduced catches and competition from foreign fishing vessels.

Fish in Sabah and Sarawak tend to fetch lower prices compared to Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia. So foreign vessels prefer to sell their catch back in their own countries, depriving local consumers of our own fish.

Over in Labuan, 83 fishing trawlers will halt their operations for 3 days in protest against the increased price of diesel that has rendered their business not viable.

In Kota Kinabalu, bogged down by escalating diesel prices, 143 trawlers are not going to sea to stem further losses and to protest. One of the owners, Mu, said that the daily catch could not cover current expenses. For an instance, each time they fish, they would gross RM13,000. Of which, RM11,000 would be for diesel and the remaining sum for paying their workers. He has been fishing for 33 years and the last six months of this year are described as the hardest.

I hope this is resolved soon, otherwise we will not have fish on the table.