KUALA TERENGGANU: Pelagic fish are abundant in deep sea fishing ground beyond 100 nautical miles which can provide bountiful harvest for fishermen . Research by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Centre (SEAFDEC) showed that pelagic fish are abundant in deep sea areas near the Malaysia-Vietnam border which had yet to be exploited by local deep sea fishermen. “We have 1,190 deep sea fishing vessels and 400 vessels are operating from three major fish landing ports in the east coast. One such vessel would be launch next year,” he said adding the costs of a deep sea vessel is about RM1.5 million while a modern steel vessel costs about RM5 million each. Asked if the government had revoked any deep sea fishing vessels, he said 472 licenses were revoked since 2015 for breaching the terms and conditions.

Source: New Strait Times November 05, 2017 07:52 UTC