Justin's Tackle Box

Here're all the odds and ends that I couldn't really fit anywhere else!

Conservation and Resource Management

In theory, Singapore should be a fishing mecca - just look at the fish species available, the geography of the island and bathymetry of the waters; besides, the government is constantly reminding us how "clean and green" we are!

While checking to see if any spiders had crawled across this site, I came across several sites bemoaning the quality of fishing in Singapore. It seems to be a common consensus among the Singaporean anglers that the fishing here is rather dismal. Strangely, I have yet to find anyone who has attempted to put a finger on the cause of this situation. Needless to say, no one I know has even suggested any possible solutions!

Of course, a few are eager to bandy around the same catchwords and phrases:-

habitat destruction
over fishing
biomass depletion
catch and release

However, I have come to the realisation that the state of the Singaporean fishery is a direct reflection of the priorities and aspirations of the Singaporean population. I don't think it's fair to just complain about how tough the fishing is in Singapore if you don't know the cause and can't work out a solution.

For example, to take a narrow symptomatic approach, massive habitat destruction occurs with every land reclamation project. Similarly, many important marine ecological biomes have been decimated as a direct consequence of so-called "recreational" projects. The next time you visit any of the local resorts, try and figure out whether that beach is natural or paid for not only with your money but with the sacrificial biomass of the reefs and marine communities that had previously existed there.

Similarly, all seasoned anglers know that unlicensed drift netting is rampant, indiscriminate and exacts a heavy toll on fish stocks. However, I've never met anyone who knew that such netting was ILLEGAL under the provisions of the Fisheries Act. Needless to say, this is one law that never gets seriously enforced! But don't just blame the authorities - would you pay for a fishing license to fund enforcement?

"Catch and Release" is a noble principle, but of limited value if applied without regard to the biology and ecology of individual fish species. Those 8 inch male grouper that some anglers religiously release are never going to be able to spawn without meeting a bigger (18" +) female grouper. Of course, those same anglers would never dream of releasing the larger fish!

The point is simple - most Singaporean's would much rather have a beach resort than a mangrove swamp, have no knowledge or desire of local fishery management and would prefer to put a fish on the table today then worry about the fishing in the next decade. Singapore is a democracy and so I guess the majority rules.