Singapore’s waters harbour a rich amount of marine life.
Hence, anglers and fishermen need to practise responsible fishing. Otherwise, non-targeted marine animals may inadvertently fall victim to their traps.
On Sunday (27 Jun), a marine biologist, Dr Neo Mei Lin, shared on her Facebook and Instagram that she found a gill net trapping numerous ‘casualties’ at Pulau Semakau.
She found at least 12 juvenile reef sharks, fishes, and crabs that were either dead or injured.
Hoping to advocate sustainable fishing, she included an advisory from NParks on avoiding ‘destructive fishing methods’ in her post.
On Sunday (27 Jun), Dr Neo, who was on a research trip to Pulau Semakau, came across a gill net.
She wrote that her heart sank as she knew there were bound to be casualties.
Walking along the net for about 500m, Dr Neo saw at least 12 juvenile black-tipped reef sharks, all dead, in various states of decomposition.
Besides that, Dr Neo also found 2 species of fishes that had died after being entangled in the net.
There was even a horseshoe crab and a mud crab that were barely alive.
Observing the gill net, Dr Neo could not tell if it was abandoned or freshly laid as one end of it was anchored down.
She remarked that local fishermen are allowed to use gill and drift nets in Singapore waters, except Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Coney Island Park, and Admiralty Park.
But NParks has issued advisories urging the public to avoid destructive fishing methods like using gill nets.
This is because gill nets tend to trap sea creatures that are not targeted, including turtles and sharks.
Unfortunately, Dr Neo’s discovery is only the latest in a string of incidents involving marine animals trapped in fishing devices.
Just last month, a hawksbill turtle – a critically endangered sea turtle species – was found dead in a gill net at Pulau Hantu.
Only a few days after this, another gill net was found off Lazarus Island, reported ST.
In that incident, casualties included 2 red crabs, one of which had lost 4 legs trying to free itself from the net.
Speaking to ST, the Singapore Food Agency said local fishermen are allowed to use gill nets less than 2km in length.
However, due to recent incidents, a group of marine enthusiasts has been working with the fishing community to gather more data on better managing our waters.
Ms Ng, the founder of marine conservation group Hantu Blog, said they do not plan to impose restrictions on fishermen but hope to develop more sustainable solutions for all in the marine environment.
While the ocean is for all to enjoy, recent incidents show us the importance of protecting our waters and the creatures that live in them.
Hopefully, fruitful discussions between the fishing and marine community will introduce long-term solutions to rectify these problems.
This is so that we can ensure no other innocent marine lives will be lost in the future.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook.
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