Fisheries Department Director-General Datuk Anan Husin pointed out that last year, the country's fishing industry achieved a catch volume of 1.42 million tons, with a total value of 12.8 billion ringgit.
He said coastal waters contributed 86.7% of the catch, reaching 1.23 million tons, while deep-sea catch contributed 13.3%, amounting to 189,000 tons.
He mentioned that a total of 49,173 fishing vessels participated in fishing activities, involving 112,344 fishermen, including 25,125 foreign crew members.
“The largest contribution to the catch comes from Zone A, reaching 484,220 tons, followed by Zone C with 430,260 tons, and Zone B with 318,080 tons.
“Zone A involves small dinghy fishing activities, with a range of 0 to 5 nautical miles; Zone B extends up to 12 nautical miles; and Zone C covers beyond 12 nautical miles, mainly involving commercial fishing vessels.”
He said this to reporters on Sunday (January 12) after attending the 2025 Masjid Tanah parliamentary constituency agriculture carnival.
Anan Husin mentioned that despite limited national fishery resources, the department aims to increase the national fishery output to 1.5 million tons in the new year.
He believes this goal can be achieved with continued sustainable fishery resource protection plans, including deploying artificial reefs in public waters, regulating fishing licenses, and controlling illegal fishing.
He added that currently, 56 islands nationwide have been designated as marine parks to protect marine ecological resources.
“We anticipate the contribution from deep-sea fishing activities will increase, especially in the eastern coastal waters of Terengganu, Kelantan, Pahang, Perak, and Johor.
“Additionally, we are focusing on tuna fishing, as our fishing vessels are permitted to fish for tuna in the Indian Ocean.”