Country review: Malaysia

Peter Flewwelling and Gilles Hosch
FAO Consultants, Fishery Policy and Planning Division, Fisheries Department
September 2004

INTRODUCTION

Malaysia,^[183] formed on September 16, 1963 was a union of the 11 states of Peninsular Malaysia with the self-governing state of Singapore, and the former British colonies of Sabah (North Borneo) and Sarawak. Singapore left the new federation in 1965. Now Malaysia is a federation of 13 states and two federal territories^[184]: (i) Peninsular Malaysia comprised of 11 states and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, the capital and largest city, occupies some 134 680 km² of the southern half of the Malay Peninsula; and (ii) Sarawak and Sabah occupies the northern third of the island of Borneo, or approximately 202 020 km². The island of Labuan, formerly part of Sabah, was made a Federal Territory in 1984.

More than one half the total land area is covered with tropical forests and with deciduous woodland in the mountains. Meanwhile, the small islands opposite the port of Kota Kinabalu, on Sabah’s western coast, have some of the world’s most diverse coral reefs and marine life. Malaysia’s tropical climate with daily temperatures varying from about 21° to 32° C (70° to 90° F), supports abundant and diverse plant, animal, and marine life. Malaysia’s EEZ is some 475 600 km², or 1.5 times as large as its total land mass of 329 758 km².

Population and the economy

The total population of Malaysia is approximately 21.83 million (1999 official estimate) is 54 percent rural, with Peninsular Malaysia being about seven times more densely populated than Sarawak and Sabah. Malays make up 47 percent of the population with Chinese comprising 32 percent and ethnics and Indians the rest. Approximately 65 000 individuals are directly involved in the fisheries as fishers with others in the processing and marketing sectors. The fisheries sector contributes approximately 1.54 percent to the GDP, and is recognized as a major source of animal protein, employment, and foreign exchange earnings.

POLICY FRAMEWORK

“The commitment of the Government of Malaysia to develop the fisheries sector is evident from its increasing funding support to programmes and projects and from the incentives and infrastructure aimed at achieving sustainable development of the sector under the National Fishery Development Plan (Menasveta, 1997).” This statement still holds true today where the Government of Malaysia adheres to the objectives of the National Agricultural Plan of 1992-2010 with respect to the fisheries sector to achieve total fish production of 2.9 million metric tonnes in 2010 with an annual growth rate set at 5.5 percent per annum. The challenge of a set growth rate is to ensure that fishing pressures remain within the limits of sustainable exploitation.

There are four key groups of departments that are involved in the fisheries, the Department of Fisheries (DoF) responsible for the overall management planning and implementation, including marine parks; the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment (MOSTE) that provides the scientific foundation for fisheries management; the Fisheries Development Authority (FDAM) with responsibility for enhancement of livelihood of fishers, value-added processing and marketing to maximize benefits to the industry; and the law enforcement agencies to supplement coastal and offshore fisheries law enforcement, e.g., Fisheries Marine Service, Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Police. These agencies are coordinated in special joint enforcement operations, especially for offshore fisheries through the Maritime Enforcement Coordinating Centre (MECC) chaired in rotation by the Navy and Maritime Police.

The Department of Fisheries has policies and strategies^[185] for the management and development of the national fisheries sector to:

• enforce the Fisheries Act 1985^[186], amended in 1993, and the Exclusive Economic Act 1984;

• manage, conserve, and rehabilitate fisheries resources to ensure their sustainability;

• conduct fisheries research;

• provide training to personnel and fisheries extension services for fishermen, farmers and down stream industry entrepreneurs;

• develop and manage inland fisheries and aquaculture;

• develop and manage marine parks and recreational fisheries;

• control fish diseases and provide quarantine services;

• monitor pollution affecting the fisheries resources;

• provide basic fishery data; and

• establish standards, inspect fisheries products, and control imports and exports of fish products with the co-operation of other related agencies.

These policies and strategies (FAO, 2001) include those focused on:

• direct limitation of fishing effort through the licensing of fishing gear and fishing vessels through the Fisheries Licensing Policy;

• identification of nursery areas that should be protected and managed as a nursing area to ensure survival of juveniles of commercially important fish species through use of closed areas, seasons, establishment of marine park areas (MPAs) and reserves, and zoning by vessel size;

• facilitation of cooperative research effort between government and academic institutions to provide data essential for the formulation of area management plans through transparent management planning involving the stakeholders - fishers and their associations, universities, government at all levels, processors and marketing agents;

• establishment of a strict Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) scheme to enforce fisheries laws and regulations and address illegal fishing;

• rehabilitation of resources through the establishment of artificial reefs and coral replanting programmes; and

• conservation of endangered species and biodiversity of marine ecosystems.

The direct limitation on effort includes a policy for conservation with a moratorium on coastal fishing to limit overexploitation. There are policies to control size and power of fishing vessels with permission for increases only provided by the Director General of Fisheries. Voluntary resettlement to reduce fishing pressures in areas of heavy exploitation has been utilized. Closed areas to protect spawning grounds, nurseries marine parks have also been utilized. Further, the establishment of fishery management zones plays a key role:

• Zone A^[187] Less than 5 nm reserved for non-commercial, owner-operated small scale vessels using traditional gear;

• Zone B Greater than 5 nm for owner-operated vessels less than 40 hp using trawls and purse seines;

• Zone C Greater than 12 nm for commercial fishing using vessels more than 40 gt using trawls and purse seines; and

• Zone C2 Beyond 30 nm for deep sea vessels greater than 70 gt.

Other policies have been established to address:

i) Conservation of resources, e.g., 40 national marine parks and reserves have been established around islands to preserve nursery areas;

ii) Rehabilitation of resources using artificial reefs made from tires (66), confiscated fishing vessels (20) and reefs using PVC piping;

iii) Prohibition of destructive fishing gear and methods, interalia pair and beam trawling, use of electricity, poisons or explosives; and push and gillnets with mesh size greater than ten inch mesh (to minimize catches of large rays, etc.)

These policies, and the strict MCS system have all been ensconced in fisheries laws and regulations.

The Fisheries Development Authority’s mandate is to upgrade the socio-economic status of the fishermen community, and as such has policies to:

• promote and develop efficient and effective management of fishery enterprises and fish marketing;

• create and provide credit facilities for fish production;

• engage in fishery enterprise through boat construction, and the production and supply of fishing gears and equipment;

• promote, facilitate and undertake economic and social development of the Fishermen's Associations;

• register, control and supervise Fishermen's Associations and Fisheries Cooperatives and to make provisions for matters related thereto; and

• control and co-ordinate the implementation of the aforesaid activities.

In summary, over 60 percent of fishers belong to, and are represented on some 116 fishers associations and organizations at the national, state, area and individual fishers cooperatives levels. Success of the management system relies on policies related mainly to input controls, but output controls can be considered under current legislation. Input controls used include:

• limited access;

• licensing of fishers, vessels and fishing gear with strict terms and conditions for:

  i) marking of vessels and gear,
  ii) landing of fish,
  iii) reporting,
  iv) processing,
  v) quality controls, and
  vi) marketing;

• effort and controls by fishery and gear for conservation purposes;

• fish zonation mechanisms to minimise fisheries conflicts and provide access benefits and rights according to vessel size and gear type; and

• mechanisms for cooperation between planning and law enforcement agencies to encourage voluntary compliance, and enforce fisheries conservation laws and production standards.

Current output controls are limited mainly to conservation measures, inter alia harvesting of cockle spat from natural or cultured cockle beds, and the fishing of endangered species, and the establishment of catch limitations.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Malaysia has a comprehensive legislative framework for the management of its fisheries, hinging on the Fisheries Act of 1985 and regulations made under that Act. In the early 1990’s Malaysia took dramatic steps to gain control of its fishing areas: over fishing; illegal fishing; the lack of timely submission of fisheries data for planning and the enhancement of its fisheries management regime. This effort is noted in the listing of legislation below. There are no international agreements permitting foreign fishing vessels access into Malaysian waters, but joint ventures are approved. The following are key acts, ordinances and regulations applicable to fisheries management include:

Acts

1.Exclusive Economic Zones Act of 1984
2.Fisheries Act of 1985 as amended in 1993

Between 1964 to date, some 20 regulations have been passed under the EEZ Act and Fisheries Act to support fisheries management planning. These address fishing, licensing, gear, seasons, area regulations, species regulations, international obligations for endangered species, establishment of MPAs (40 MPAs in Malaysia), aquaculture and mariculture.

Other legislations^[188] that impact on coastal and offshore fisheries include the:

1. Land Conservation Act 1960 (revised 1989)
2. National Land Code 1965
3. Town and Country Planning Act 1974
4. Street, Drainage, Buildings Act 1974
5. Environmental Quality Act (EQA) 1974
6. Local Government Act 1976
7. Uniform Building By-Laws 1986
8. Environmental Quality (Prescribed Activities) Order 1987
9. Environmental Quality (Prescribed Premises) Order

Fisheries legislation targets three main priorities:

1. optimum exploitation of fisheries resources;
2. protection of the interests of the traditional fishers and improvement their socioeconomic status; and
3. sustainable exploitation of the fisheries resources.

The legislation includes a comprehensive description of compliance and enforcement requirements, as well as the authorities, rights, and responsibilities of both officials and fishers in this process for licensing, inspections, reporting requirements, dockside monitoring, use of vessel monitoring systems (VMS), air surveillance, and landing checks, but legislation does not yet include coverage by observers, nor electronic reporting of catches. It should be noted however, that the most effective fisheries licensing system in Asia is that in Malaysia, a system that has been certified as ISO 9000 approved.

The current legislation provides clear disincentives for foreign fishing vessels from entering Malaysian waters. Infractions are sanctioned by a compounded administrative penalty system or court procedures that include: automatic forfeiture of vessels, gear and catches on a finding of guilt, and financial penalties for the master and each of the crew.

Licenses are issued annually, are limited access in nature and strictly enforced. Penalties are severe and implemented with the full support of the Departments of Fisheries and Justice.

In summary, the Department of Fisheries is responsible for fisheries management and its implementation. Legislation for Malaysia however, includes that for the integration of state and federal territories’ legislations for fisheries management. Malaysia has an appropriate legal framework to implement fisheries management. This is supported through a strong deterrent mechanism within the laws, as well as a certified ISO 9000 approved, integrated licensing system that is one of the better systems in Asia. The legal framework for fisheries also incorporates international fisheries management principles and plans of action.

STATUS OF THE FISHERIES

The fishery has declined in contribution to the GDP from two percent in the 1980’s to 1.5 percent in the late 1990s, due mainly to the rapid industrial development of the country. The Malaysian Government recognizes the fisheries as a key source of protein and also a major contributor to employment and foreign exchange earnings.

The growing shortage of fishermen has resulted in a high dependence on foreign fishers to crew Malaysian vessels above 40 GT, but this is also now occurring on vessels less than 40 GT. The ageing fishing community is one of the challenges facing the government, with 80-90 percent of the crews for the larger vessels coming from Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia. The youth of Malaysia is absorbed into the growing technological and tourism industries than fishing. Maintenance of production levels may therefore require consideration of modernisation of the fishing fleets and industry in the future, including property rights, etc.

Close to one million metric tonnes of commercial catch is taken by some 32 000 fishers using approximately 7 000 vessels. Approximately 34 000 artisanal fishers harvest an additional 200 000 mt using some 21 000 small vessels. Catches are generally landed in the 72 fish landing sites. Noteworthy is the fact that approximately 90 percent of all catches in Malaysia are taken within 12 nm of the coast.

The key fishing gears for the commercial fishery include: the demersal trawl for demersal species; purse seines for small pelagics (mackerels and anchovy); hook and line for pelagics (tunas); and drift and gillnets for higher value pelagics. The commercial fisheries have increased 40 percent in volume from ten years ago and are valued at over US$0.5 billion, an increase of more than double from the same period. The small artisanal coastal fishery has increased by 25 percent in volume and 120 percent in value from ten years ago. This was due mainly to the increases in both hook and line and drift and gillnet catches.

Only about three percent of the large vessels are greater than 70 gt, 23.2 percent between 15 -70 gt, and 63 percent less than 15 gt. Further, 51.6 percent of the entire fishery uses inboard engines, and 39.3 percent have outboard motors. 63 percent of the entire fleet have engines below 40 hp, 14.8 percent between 40-99 hp and 21.6 percent greater than 100 hp^[189], in essence ... a highly mechanized fleet. The multi-species/multigear fisheries in Malaysia incorporate the use of a variety of fishing apparatus, both fixed and mobile gear, but the trawls, drift and gillnets and hook and line for highly commercial fisheries are becoming most popular. The high prices for prawns from the coastal trawl fishery make this the most lucrative fishery, especially on the west coast of Malaysia. Demersal and pelagic finfish (Indo-Pacific mackerel) dominate the trawl fishery, especially on the west coast. The purse seiners target small pelagics and anchovies in the coastal waters, the latter being caught in close inshore waters in West Peninsular Malaysia. The purse seine fishery uses fish aggregating devices (FADs). Drift and gillnets are used for catching small finfish, trammel nets for prawns, and set nets for other demersal species.

TABLE 1
Fishers and their catches¹

¹ Statistics provided courtesy of the Department of Fisheries, Malaysia, September 2003.

The artisanal fishery has three times the number of vessels, the same number of fishers, but only 27 percent of the total value of the fishery in comparison to the commercial fisheries. The artisanal fishery contributes more to local employment than the larger commercial fishery.

MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY

The physical target for fish production for 2010 is 2.9 million mt to meet harvesting targets. The challenge will be to ensure that this merges with responsible management and that it does not negatively impact on sustainability of the resources.

Management measures are in place to maintain all non-traditional fisheries, those fisheries outside 5 nm. The management responsibility lies solely with the Department of Fisheries however, other levels of government are invited to provide inputs. The exercise is usually centralized and top-down, but is well publicized and permits consultation, participation and discussions with fisheries associations, cooperatives, industry, as well as other stakeholders. The consultation process is implemented through the use of the media for announcing policy and then opening the “floor” for discussions with the industry prior to implementation. Management plans are, for the most part, legislated nationally as regulations, or provincially through state law. Fisheries management makes use of up-to-date technology for licensing, and surveillance. This includes vessel monitoring systems (offshore), radar, sea and air patrols, at-sea and port inspections, and cross checking of data integrity.

Malaysia established the capacity to carry out stock assessment through the fisheries scientific network including the Department, other national agencies and institutions.

Management measures have been put in place to take action should fisheries approach maximum sustainable yield levels; such as the moratorium on coastal fisheries licenses, policies to control increased fishing capacity (effort control), promotion of the offshore fishery, and enhanced monitoring and research on stocks nearing maximum exploitation levels.

The main management tools include the use of: access limitations (limited entry set along sustainable scientific effort limits); gear restrictions (vessel size and engine power restrictions, fishing gear restrictions, pair trawlers, beam trawlers, push nets using large mesh, etc.); spatial restrictions, (zonation to protect smaller fishers and minimise gear conflicts, area closures to protect nurseries, establishment of marine parks and reserves); and to a lesser extent, the use of temporal restrictions to protect spawning areas, etc. Management processes include:

• establishment of a comprehensive and integrated Monitoring, Control and Surveillance scheme, including data collection, legislation for restrictive measures (licensing, gear, seasons, areas, species controls, etc.), supported by appropriate enforcement and penalties;

• monitoring of catch, effort and landing data (monitoring) for scientific analysis secured through logbooks and landing reports, as an observer program is not yet in place;

• inclusion of management tools in the primary legislation (control) (Fisheries Act 1985 - amended 1993) and its regulations;

• use of surveillance mechanisms and tools for patrols and joint operations

  - 65 DoF patrol vessels, charter aircraft;

  - additional support from the MECC agencies;

  - protected area patrols (one of the mechanisms growing in popularity);

  - pre-licensing verification of vessel and engine size, gear and its size;

  - regular reporting of catches; landing checks;

  - strict licensing conditions;

  - highly visible and unique vessel marking requirements to facilitate identification at sea and from the air; and

  - VMS for larger commercial vessels.

Although the need for conflict resolution is rare, it is addressed both through administrative processes or the courts. In the case of infractions, the Malaysian legal processes are recognized for their familiarity and understanding of the benefits of sustainable resource management and penalties for illegal fishing activities are severe^[190].

Malaysia has been one of the few countries that has recovered from the financial crisis in Asia and is again increasing its budgetary allocations directed to the fisheries sector, bringing in greater participatory management techniques and claiming greater control of its marine resources.

Challenges^[191] for future fisheries management in Malaysia include:

• overfishing in the coastal areas;

• ongoing strengthening of legislation and regulatory processes, e.g., the need to prove intent with respect to the possession of bombing and poison fishing implements; current limitations of “hot pursuit” under Malaysian law that are more restrictive than international law, e.g., only to the EEZ; implementation of port State obligations such as IOTC port inspections and data collection, etc.;

• curbing of illegal foreign fishing, i.e., incursions into Malaysian waters;

• curbing of illegal domestic fishing (both unlicensed vessels and zone incursions);

• curbing of destructive fishing practices, bombing and use of poisons;

• tighter control of charter vessels to maximize benefits to Malaysia;

• enhancement of at-sea and port inspection mechanism to address coastal and port state authorities under international law;

• enhancement of technology and use, information sharing and joint use of assets for inter-agency operations;

• enhancement of regional cooperation initiatives for research, training, information sharing, control mechanisms; and

• involvement of the stakeholders at all levels of the industry in the planning and implementation of management strategies.

COSTS AND REVENUES OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

The costs of fisheries management for Malaysia have increased considerably as it takes greater control of its marine resources, increases stakeholder consultation, addresses the growing complexity of management planning, and implementation of international and regional obligations.

Although license fees are in existence, they are not rationalized or set at a level to offset management costs. Revenues from fisheries licensing and penalties flow directly to central government revenues and are not linked to departmental management costs or budgets. However, Malaysia demonstrated its commitment to management through the increase in budgets for fisheries management and operations. Budget increases and planned infrastructure replacement for fisheries assets, continued involvement and commitment to regional and international fisheries management fora and implementation of agreed strategies are continuing in Malaysia. These costs are currently being borne by both the Government and stakeholders with recent increases in management costs being funded by the former.

IMPLEMENTATION OF GLOBAL FISHERIES MANDATES AND INITIATIVES

Malaysia ratified the UNCLOS of 10 December 1982 on 14 October 1986 and the implementation of Part XI; belongs to CITES; and signed the Biodiversity Convention of 1992. Although Malaysia has not yet ratified the UN Fish Stocks Agreement or the FAO Compliance Agreement, many of the management principles are included in its legislative instruments. FAO assistance in 2000, to incorporate the principles and strategies of these instruments, was undertaken, but at the time of writing, the extent of implementation of the recommendations of this study is not known.

Malaysia concurs with the principles of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and has taken action to develop National Plans for the implementation of International Plans of Action (IPOAs) for the:

1. Conservation and Management of Sharks, including data collection and shark identification;

2. Management of Fishing Capacity by setting a moratorium on issuance of new licenses for the coastal areas, setting fishing zones for conservation, and limiting vessels size and fishing gears;

3. Prevention, deterrence and elimination of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU), by requiring all vessels fishing in Malaysian waters to be licensed, carry the Malaysian flag and implementing a strong MCS system for compliance.

PARTICIPATION IN REGIONAL FISHERY BODIES

Malaysia currently participates in the following international organizations related to fisheries management:

• Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines - East Asian Growth Area (BIMP - EAGA^[192])

• Asia Pacific Fisheries Commission (APFIC)

• Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC)

• South East Asia Fisheries Development Centre (SEAFDEC)

• Asia Pacific Economic Commission (APEC) as a regular and active member

• FAO Bay of Bengal - Large Marine Ecosystem Project (FAO BOB-LME)

• Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA)

• World Fish Centre - International Scientific and Technical Centre, former ICLARM.

• Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)

Malaysia reports that it can and does meet its commitments to these organizations with respect to reports and sharing of information.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Malaysia, a federation of 13 states and two federal territories has its 475 000 km² of EEZ, 1.5 times its land mass, and population of 21.83 million persons. Malaysia lies between the East Indian Ocean and the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. The Department of Fisheries with assistance from the inter-agency Maritime Enforcement Coordinating Committee (MECC) has the responsibility to manage the US$1.3 billion fishery from the harvest of some 1.2 million mt by 66 000 fishers of which 32 000 operate from the 7 000 commercial fishing boats and the remainder fish from the 21 000 artisanal craft.

Malaysia remains a leader in its commitment to the goal of managing its fisheries in a responsible and sustainable manner. It has developed an appropriate legislative framework that incorporates many current international fisheries principles and strategies (National Plans for IPOAs, and the Fisheries Code), and integrates new technologies for these purposes, (VMS and radar). Malaysia has a comprehensive and thoroughly legislated fisheries management regime for both coastal and offshore commercial fisheries centred mainly around a host of input controls. These mechanisms are supported by a strong and well publicized penalty system. The planning and implementation of the management strategies for all its fisheries is an example for other countries of the region. These management plans are guided by the National Fisheries Development Plan that forms part of the National Agricultural Development Policy (1992-2010).

Key challenges for Malaysia in the future include:

• Passing management costs, or part thereof, on to the stakeholders;

• Enhancing participatory management techniques in the planning and implementation of strategies;

• Addressing over capacity and over capitalization in the coastal fisheries;

• Enhanced inter-agency cooperation for management implementation support;

• Maintaining production levels with reduced involvement of Malaysian youth in the fishery;

• Incorporating legislative changes to maintain concurrence with international advances in management practices, and obligations; and

• Curbing illegal and destructive fishing practices.

Noting the above however, does not negate the considerable advancement of Malaysia in fisheries management over the past two decades, both on its own merit and efforts and taking full advantage of the external assistance, e.g., FAO FISHCODE, to become a model for developing countries in responsible and sustainable management practices.

REFERENCES

FAO. 1999. Report of a Regional Workshop on Fisheries Monitoring, Control and Surveillance and Supplement 1, Country Reports, Regional Reports and Case Studies. Kuala Lumpur and Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, June/July1998, Rome.

FAO. 2000. Report of a Workshop on the Fishery and Management of Short Mackerel (Restrelliger spp.) on the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Penang, Malaysia May 1999, Rome.

FAO. 2000. Regional Introductory Workshop on MCS for Fisheries Executives of Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Songkhla, Thailand, June 2000 (unpublished).

FAO. 2001. Information on Fisheries Management for Malaysia. (available at http://www.fao.org/countryprofiles/).

FAO. 2002/27. Building an Awareness in Aspects of Fishery Statistics, Stock Assessment and Management. Proceedings of the FAO/SEAFDEC Workshop on the Use of Statistics and Other Information for Stock Assessment. Samut Prakarn, Thailand, September 2002, Rome.

FAO. Status of World Marine Capture Fisheries Questionnaire, completed by the Department of Fisheries of Malaysia, 2003 (unpublished).

FAO Web Pages, Ocean Law, Fisheries Country Profiles; Information on Fisheries Management in Malaysia, 2003.

Flewwelling, P. 2001. Fisheries Management and MCS in South Asia: Comparative Analysis, Rome, Italy, FAO, 2000. 56p.

Flewwelling, P. 2001. Fisheries Management and MCS in South Asia: Compendium of FAO Missions, (Not Published), Tacloban, Philippines. 258p.

Menasveta, D. 1997. Fisheries Management Frameworks of the Countries Bordering the South China Sea, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP Publication 1997/33, 151p.

APPENDIX TABLES

Current management of marine capture fisheries

Summary information for three largest fisheries (by volume) for fiscal year 2001/2002

* Value in 2002 U.S. Dollars.
** % values are based on totals for each category of fishery.
n.a. not available

Use of fishery management tools within the three largest fisheries

Costs and funding sources of fisheries management within the three largest fisheries

Compliance and enforcement within the three largest fisheries

Capacity management within the three largest fisheries