Fishing trawlers ply waters off Kyaukphyu amid ban for local fishermen

By Admin 05 Oct 2024

DMG Newsroom
5 October 2024, Kyaukphyu

Myanmar's military regime is allowing commercial fishing trawlers to operate around Kyaukphyu Township, though it has barred residents from fishing in those same waters off the Arakan State coast.

Trawlers from other parts of the country are fishing in the sea some 10 miles from the shore near Minpyin Village by bribing the Myanmar Navy, according to residents.

"They can fish within 10 miles from the shore. Junta naval ships took bribes from them. They have been fishing every day," said a resident of Kyaukphyu Township advocating for the preservation of local fish stocks.

The daily operations of these fishing trawlers near the shore has the potential to deplete those fish stocks, he added.

The junta's administrative mechanism has largely collapsed in Arakan State since its war with the Arakkha Army (AA) began anew in November of last year. Departments under the regime including those responsible for regulatory matters are not functioning as normal, if at all, as their staffs have fled the fighting.

One employee from the Fisheries Department in Kyaukphyu Township who was displaced by the conflict said: "Almost all employees have fled the fighting. So, the department has ceased to function."

But the regime has barred local fishermen from casting off their dock lines and fishing in waters within the Kyaukphyu Township jurisdiction since November, following the resumption of hostilities with the AA. The regime has gone so far as to open fire on fishermen who have dared to defy the order. Fishermen have also been subjected to arrest and fines.

The majority of Kyaukphyu residents are fishermen who have been suffering livelihood hardships due to the junta's fishing ban.

"Though [commercial] fishing vessels can fish, we can't even cast nets near the shore. It is difficult even to leave the shore. They seize our boats when they spot us," said a fisherman from Kyaukphyu Township.

The junta also banned travel around Maday Island, the site of major China-backed oil and gas pipelines, from July 15 until September 30, 2024, as it dredged the Thanzit River for oil tankers. Small ships, cargo vessels, fishing boats, and other vessels were prohibited from anchoring, fishing and casting nets in the waters during the ban.