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“The Government has
set a target that the fisheries sector will be a
source of economic growth in this decade up to
2010.
“Therefore, an incentive scheme has been
formulated on the various types of incentives they
could enjoy,’’ he told a press conference after
opening the Fisheye View International Exhibition
at Mid Valley Exhibition Centre at the Mega Mall
here last Friday.
Dr Effendi said the
Fisheries Department and Malaysia Fisheries
Development Authority (LKIM) had begun to develop
joint ventures with the private sector and
international bodies in the area of technology.
These include
ventures in fish fry and feed production, deep sea
and international fishing, downstream processing,
value-added fish products preparation, marketing
and trading, and the fishery-related agro-tourism
industry.
Noting that fishery
resources were being depleted, he said upgrading
technology know-how would bring about larger
catches.
Dr Effendi added
that the ministry had developed a comprehensive
long-term plan to ensure that the fisheries sector
was sustainable.
He said the plan
was in line with the Third National Agricultural
Policy (NAP3) 1998-2010, under which fish
production would increase from one million tonnes
to 1.8 million tonnes a year, with 600,000 tonnes
of the increase coming from aquaculture.
“We see a bright
future in aquaculture industry, which will be
beneficial to the country in terms of import
savings, food security and export earnings,” he
added.
He also said
research and development should be carried out to
explore non-traditional activities such as
shellfish culture, seaweed culture, mariculture,
tuna fishing, fishery-based food processing,
sports fishing and aqua-tourism. |
