Jeffrey sitting in the captain’s chair of the first state-owned deep sea fishing vessel, SBF 68, with Peter to his right.
KOTA KINABALU (Oct 20): Sabah has embarked on a three-month deep sea fishing pilot project in its waters as part of its efforts to spur the state’s Blue Economy.
A wholly Malaysian-owned company with over 30 years experience in the field, Labuan Madani Marine Sdn Bhd had given permission to the State Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industries Ministry (MAFFI) to use their vessels for this purpose, after they received their Deep Sea Fishing Permit and Licence (C2) on Saturday.
MAFFI Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan who presented the permit and licence to the company during the Sabah Blue Economy Conference (SIBEC) 2024, had visited the first provided deep sea fishing vessel at the Kota Kinabalu Ports on Sunday, and gave hope that they will add more vessels if the pilot project is succesful.
Labuan Madani Marine Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Peter Chi Kain Sang said the inaugural boat, SBF 68, a Chinese-made vessel which cost millions of ringgit to procure, is currently made up of mostly foreigners in its crew, but after a transfer of technology is completed during the testing period, it will comprise of 100 percent Malaysians including Sabahans, providing job opportunities to locals.
Peter vowed to help contribute to the state’s Blue Economy, improve its general economy and promote its deep sea fishing industry through this endeavour, adding that he had spoken to the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) secretariat in the hopes of establishing a joint venture so that the Sabah government can get involved in their efforts directly and see the industry grow.
Sabah Fisheries Department director Datuk Azhar Kassim said the first state-owned deep sea fishing vessel, which can fit a maximum 150 tonnes of fish in one trip, is one of the two boats provided by the company for this effort, with the other one being model SBF 66, and they will observe their performance in these three months before deciding to add more vessels.
Azhar said they had gone through various processes since the beginning of the year to get the boats licenced and properly regulated since it is a Chinese-made vessel, such as complying with the National Security Council, adding that that most of the catch will be sold in Sabah while the rest are to be exported abroad.