THE government is working on a national blue ocean strategy (NBOS) approach by engaging relevant quarters to curb encroachment on waters near offshore oil rigs in Sabah.
Sabah National Security Council (NSC) has information that the problem of fishermen going near the rigs is becoming rampant.
During a recent visit to oilfields on board Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Authority’s (MMEA) vessel KD Arau, Sabah NSC director Datuk Rodzi Md Saad said the approach would include drafting terms of reference to tackle the problem.
“The visit to the oil rigs by various security agencies is one way to understand the problem so we can come up with the NBOS approach.
“We will engage oil rig operators to formulate suitable steps to enhance security,” he said.
MMEA Sabah and Labuan regional director, First Admiral Mohd Zubil Mat Som, said going within 500m of an oil rig was considered encroachment.
He said 773 cases were recorded this year at 17 offshore oil rigs in the state.
He said there was an uptrend as fishermen became more daring and entered prohibited zones to fish.
Admittedly, he said, it was difficult for the MMEA or marine police to patrol the rigs 24 hours a day. Moreover, he said, most offenders would have fled the scene by the time the authorities reached the rigs.
While there were only a small number of reported fish bombing activities near the rigs, they posed a high risk of causing disaster near the rigs, Zubil said.
He said fishermen also failed to understand how fish bombing would destroy corals and affect tourism sites.
“The problem is compounded as detonators used in fish bombing can easily be found in the market for about RM20 to RM30 apiece. There is a need to stop the source of supply and arrest the sellers.
“We believe that the detonators are smuggled from a neighbouring country and we can either stop the smugglers or nab the suppliers here,” he said.