Fishermen in territorial disputes in Kyaukphyu Twsp

By DMG 14 Dec 2022

DMG Newsroom
14 December 2022, Kyaukphyu

Declining fish stocks in the Thanzit River in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu have become a source of dispute for local fishermen, with one group accusing the other of encroaching on their fishing territory.

Some 30 fishermen who operate gillnets have been catching fish in the area designated for fishermen who mainly use drift nets since October, complained local fishermen who engage in fishing with drift nets. Some 500 drift net fishermen have not been able to fish since, and are struggling to earn their livelihoods.

In 2015, the Kyaukphyu District Fisheries Department and the district General Administration Department designated a line separating the Thanzit River into two fishing zones — one for those who use drift nets, and another for those who use gillnets.

“In the Thanzit River, there are separate fishing areas for us and those who operate fishing rafts,” said drift net fisherman U Maung Yin Htwe from Pyin Phyu Maw Ward in Kyaukphyu. “Since October, they have been operating in our place. So, we haven’t been able to fish for around three months, and our livelihoods are seriously affected.”

The administrator of Maday Island Village, U San Thar Aung, said: “Our Maday islanders mainly engage in drift net fishing for their livelihoods. When gillnet fishermen set up their nets, we can’t use our drift nets.”

Drift net fishermen filed a complaint with authorities, and the Kyaukphyu District Fisheries Department told them to refer to the 2015 agreement.

But gillnet fishermen are still operating in the fishing zone designated for drift net fishermen, said some local residents.

“They don’t follow the instructions of the fisheries department. We would like to ask authorities to intervene,” said a drift net fisherman from Pyin Phyu Maw Ward in Kyaukphyu.

There are some 80 fishermen who use gillnets in the Thanzit River, and some 30 are encroaching on fishing zones designated for drift raft fishermen. Declining fish stocks in the Thanzit River are reportedly to blame.

“They fish there because fish are slightly abundant there, and fish stocks are dwindling here [in the area designated for gillnet fishermen]. A total of 52 fishing raft operators including me do not fish in their fishing zone, and we have reported to the fisheries department about that,” said a gillnet fisherman.