Trawler's Dilemma

In my dialogue with Fishermen Association, I’ve been given to understand trawlers may go on boycott over the issue of subsidized diesel on 12th December.

Presently, there are about 3000 trawlers in Peninsular Malaysia concentrating in Selangor, Perak, Johor, Pahang and Kelantan.

The fisherman enjoyed subsidized diesel of RM1.43 per litre compared to market diesel price of RM1.80 per litre.

The fishermen are unhappy that while the petrol and diesel price in the market has been reduced 6 times since this year but there have been no reduction in subsidized diesel since then.

On average, big trawlers consume about 20,000 – 25,000 litres of diesel per month while small trawlers consume about 8,000 – 10,000 litres per month.

While I do not have actual figure for the amount of diesel sold to fishermen, in Peninsular Malaysia, it is estimated that 70 million litres of subsidized diesels per month were sold to them.

Now, the fishermen have appealed for the following:

1) To have the price of diesel reduced to RM1 per litre.

The fishermen claimed that the operating profit margin is about 5%. At RM1.43, diesel will account for 50% of operating cost. At RM1.00, diesel will account for 35% of operating cost.

Therefore, reduction of price is crucial for survival in view of the low catch and since they operate at a very low margin of 5%.

2) Trawlers with class B license should be given permission to employ foreign workers since no local people are willing to work at the industry apart from the owner himself. There are about 2000 trawlers with license B. Average boat requires 3-4 workers, so we are talking about 6,000 to 8,000 foreign workers.

It cannot be denied that the government have been very concerned about the plight of fishermen and have been giving subsidy beside subsidized diesel; it also gives RM200 per month per license holder.

If they feel the above problems are not resolved, they will then attempt to stage boycott on 12th December.

We strongly feel that the government should consider reducing the price of:
1) subsidized diesel of RM1 or RM1.20 per litre;
2) Fixed quota as to reduce smuggling and direct sales of subsidized diesel for quick profit.

Suggestion

In the long term, the government cannot continue to subsidize the fishermen. Hence, we must look for alternatives to solve the problem of the fishermen:

1) Government must look for other source of income by weaning the fishermen to other more viable economy activities. A lot of Malaysians and younger generations are not interested in fishing industries, the government should seriously consider to wean existing fishermen to other industries. Compensation scheme should be given to those who are interested to move to other industries. The saving from subsidized diesel is more than adequate to compensate the fishermen;

2) Training scheme for fisherman so that they can meaningfully engage in other industries, e.g. aquaculture;

3) Finally, in the long term, this will serve to protect marine resources especially of over fishing so that for remaining fishermen, fishing becomes economically more viable.

渔民公会代表和我进行对话时表明，如果柴油补贴问题无法获得解决，众拖网渔民将在本月12日展开罢捕行动。

全马半岛有约3千艘拖网渔船，聚集在雪兰莪、霹雳、柔佛、彭亨以及吉兰丹州。

为减轻渔民的负担，政府向来为渔民提供柴油补贴。目前，渔民享有每公升1令吉43仙的补贴价，相较于1令吉85仙的市场价格，便宜42仙。

不过，渔民仍不满为何政府在今年内前后调低燃油市场价格5次，但却没有再调低补贴的柴油价格。

一艘大型拖网渔船平均每个月消耗2万至2万5千公升柴油，小型拖网渔船则8千至一万公升左右。

我暂时未取得渔民消费的柴油总量数据，但我估计在大马半岛，政府每个月售予渔民的柴油就已高达7千万公升。

渔民公会造前也曾写信给各造提出他们的诉求。今天，他们希望通过我的政府政策监督局，再次向政府反映拖网渔民的困境。他们要求：

1．调低柴油价格至每公升一令吉

渔民指出，目前他们所得的盈利大概只有5％。以每公升1令吉43仙计算，柴油的开销就占了营运成本的一半。如果降价至一令吉，柴油开销也相应减至35％，有助于降低渔民的营运成本。

2．要求批准B级执照的拖网渔船聘雇外劳。据了解，我国人民没兴趣投身捕鱼业，渔民面对严重人手短缺问题。我国有约2千艘B级执照拖网渔船，每艘船需要3至4位工人，总共需要6千至8千名外劳。

事实上，政府向来都很关注渔民的苦境。除了柴油补贴，政府每月会给每位执照者额外200令吉津贴。

惟渔民认为，调整柴油补贴能直接减轻业者的负担，受益更大。

他们指出，如果上述要求不受理，拖网渔民考虑在12日当天集体罢捕，以表不满。

政府可如何协助这些渔民？

我认为，有关当局应该：

1. 考虑降低补贴柴油价格至每公升1令吉或1令吉20仙。
2. 设定渔民可购买的柴油固打，目的是打击走私或私卖补贴柴油的勾当。

持续补贴并不能保障渔民的生计。长远之计，政府必须寻求其他方法解决捕鱼业的瓶颈，这包括：

1. 政府须为捕鱼业者寻找和开发新的经济来源。如今，大部分国人特别是新生代对捕鱼业不感兴趣，政府应该协助有意转行的渔民加入其他领域，并把省下的柴油津贴转作给渔民的赔偿。

2. 为渔民提供再培训，让他们能容易投入新行业。例如：水产养殖业

3. 渔民人数减少可避免过量打鱼，长远有助保护海洋生物和资源。