Why fish bombers escape the law

It is just sad, isn't it?

People continues to flout the law at the expense of fellow humans and the environment, and walk away scot-free.

Image: DE - Mar 23, 2011

While killing of sharks isn't a crime as fish is one of the long list of consumables in our dietary,  it is disheartening to  learn that people kill them and throw their bodies back into the sea.

Fish bombing is a crime in Malaysia and some of the key legislation outlawing fish bombing are the Explosives Act 1957, Fisheries Act 1985, and Sabah Parks Enactment, 1984.

But fish bombers tend to escape the law, every time.

How so?

Captain Maritime Amir Azwa Mohd Alias, the Operation Director of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) thinks that legal loopholes made it hard for enforcers to charge fishermen using explosive device in court (Daily Express, March 12, 2012).

Despite MMEA's officers' certainty that they were real culprits, they (the culprits) would be able to walk free due to insufficient evidence presented in court. They would bomb and let someone else pick up the catch, and the guys who collect the dead fish would claim their innocence and say they were only picking the catch and knew nothing of any explosives.

Review Maritime Law to give it more bite

Since MMEA's inception in Feb 16, 2007, it has now expanded nation-wide and currently, MMEA Sabah has about 709 officers and members Statewide with 209 of them placed in Kota Kinabalu with much of their assets coming from Royal Malaysian Navy, Marine Police, Customs and Fisheries Department.

With that number of officers in Kota Kinabalu alone, I think the agency is well equipped in terms of manpower. With 209 personnel they can have at least 10 enforcement teams working round the clock, not necessarily on the look for fish bombers only.  Talk about rescue, enforcement of maritime laws to nab smugglers, illegal immigrants and other offenses.

From 2007 to January this year, MMEA has caught a total 962 maritime offenders and conducted a total 11,187 checks on boats and vessels statewide. The followings are statistics given by MMEA on its hauls since inception:

Data source: DE - Mar 12, 2012

Exactly, what sort of revision to the maritime law is needed then? One example is by giving the law more power in enforcing the banning of fish caught using fish-bombs. Procedure could be streamlined and made easy to implement. Provide modern, powerful tools to easily detect such catch. Provide trainings for the relevant personnel - technical and motivation wise.

Other measures and activities

1. Holding regional symposium on Anti Fish Bombing, such as one held recently in Kota Kinabalu and attended by many stake holders.
2. Share experience gained from other countries and adapt it to the local scene, when feasible.
3. Involve the local communities. The more the communities are being involved, the more cooperative they will be to the government initiative.
4. Conduct campaigns to create awareness, and do this on a regular basis; not seasonal.
5. Perhaps, it is a good idea to recruit officers from the problematic waters. Note: A study will still need to be done though.

What can you and me do?

Simply put, don't eat fish caught using fish-bomb. Similar to fish preserved with formaldehyde, there are tell tales of fish caught with bomb. Ask around. People close to the fishing industry knows more than you think.

SESB Shocked by Tresspassing

Well, don't be! With appropriate tools, anyone can trespass any of the the restricted sub-stations.

I have conducted a number of investigations (not SESB properties) on stolen cables, station transformers, HT switchgear and their fittings and the people who stole these equipment are clearly those with some sort technical knowledge of electricity. They have special tools, or what we call dedicated tools for working with live apparatus.

It's about time SESB make full use of the internet, webcams and wireless communication to put 'eyes' on all the sub-stations. Perhaps they can start with the critical loads/clients and slowly cover the rest of them.

One of SESB's facilities near KKIP

As reported by Daily Express yesterday:

Kota Kinabalu: SESB was once again shocked by a trespassing incident at the electricity substation by some individuals who then stole electrical equipment in the substation at 1:57 pm on Monday.

Following this incident, power to Wisma Merdeka and Wisma Perkasa was immediately cut off for several hours until SESB employees managed to find the cause and replace the lost electrical installations, it said in a statement Saturday.

It findings at the scene also found a number of important installations for the supply of electricity to both buildings had been lost and SESB estimated losses of about RM10,000 due to the greedy and inconsiderate actions.

Electricity supply in the area was resumed fully at 5.30 pm on the same day. SESB once again sought cooperation from the public to immediately report to the SESB on-line number 088-282455, if they notice individuals who look suspicious and do not look like SESB employees working in the electrical substation/SESB premises.

Hawaii Clean Energy

Hawaii is one of the world's premier travel destinations. However, if visitors look beyond the views of Diamond Head, Waikiki Beach, palm trees and the blue Pacific, they'll see a renewable energy transformation under way that could be a model for others around the world, RenewableEnergyWorld.com reported last week.

Kahuku wind farm. Image by- npr.org

90% of Hawaii's energy for transportation and electricity comes from fossil fuel, making it the highest in the US. This cannot go on forever with the depleting oil reserve and the ever increasing cost of obtaining such energy source.

Caring for nature and concern for emission of carbon, Hawaii took several measures in adopting green energy source such as using biofuels to generate power, encouraging the use of electric vehicles, drilling for more geothermal energy, and integrating more solar and wind power. Latest in its list of initiatives is the testing of the smart-grid by Hawaiian Electric Company, HECO together with its subsidiaries.

In 2010, the Solar Electric Power Association ranked HECO third in the United States for growth in solar power. According to RenewableEnergyWorld, Hawaii has more solar watts per customer than all but a few U.S. states.

Wind farms provide power on our three largest islands and additional projects are in the pipeline.According to Clean Technica, Hawaii is currently developing its 69MW Kawailoa wind power project, dubbed the largest in the tourist island on Oahu’s North Shore. The wind power installations consists of 30 nos of 2.3MW Siemens wind turbines, enough to power approximately 14,500 homes on Oahu Island. This makes about 5% of the island’s total power demand.

Another renewable energy source - geothermal energy - provides about 17% of the electricity on Hawaii island. Collaboration between authority and the local communities, and renewable energy developers also helps in shaping the future of the island's geothermal development.

Go green

Common sense tells us that if clean energy technology can be made to work on the small independent grids in Hawaii, it can work anywhere. Solutions developed and tested in Hawaii is said to feature the most advanced technology. It will be constructed in ways that are environmentally friendly.

Hawaii encourages the use of Electric Vehicle developing 'discounted overnight charging rates', and the government is working with electric vehicle manufacturers and service equipment suppliers to ease broader adoption of such vehicles there.

Let's hope that Malaysia could make similar effort to encourage the use of more electric vehicles, such as lowering the cost or owning the New Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight.