The livelihood of more than 1,000 fishermen families here have been affected by illegal trawler boats which have encroached the coastline there for almost 50 years now, said Muar Member of Parliament Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman

The Youth and Sports Minister said these encroachments have reached up to the Bagan district between three and five nautical miles from the shore and occur between 6 am and 6 pm.

He said the illegal trawler boats encroach up to Tanjung Tohor and had also destroyed the fish conservation and breeding areas as well as nets and cages of local fishermen.

“These encroachments which have been happening for almost 50 years have not been tackled even though the Parit Jawa Fisheries Society had referred the matter to the Johor Fisheries Director since 1999.

"The fishermen in Muar are still facing the problem of encroachment by trawler boats, the problem of concrete culverts, docks and jetties, and an unclear guide of fishing areas in the Strait of Malacca,” he said in a statement after visiting Parit Jawa and the waters off Muar to study the problem.

He said he would seek feedback from the Muar district Fisheries Office, the Fishermen’s Association and the Muar Marine Police in a dialogue session with local fishermen soon. 

He added that he would also take up the issue with the Home Ministry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry as well as the Defence Ministry. - Bernama