KUANTAN: Over the past two decades, fisherman Mohd Tajul Ariffin Muda used to go out to sea after sending his children to school but times have changed.
These days, the 44-year-old has to leave home around 4am to catch the high tide to go out to sea.
Unregulated sand mining activities at Kampung Sungai Ular near Beserah here had made the estuary too shallow for the coastal fishermen's fibreglass boats to reach the open sea, especially during low tide.
Tajul said he had to set out to sea early during high tide or face the potential of remaining at home without any catch.
"The estuary has become shallow. We cannot go out to sea during low tide as the boats would get stuck at the sandy river mouth.
"Once the boats are stranded, the fishermen have to return home and wait for high tide to remove the boats.
"The sand mining stopped since December last year but the project has badly affected the fishing community.
"There were incidents of boats being damaged after crashing into poles and concrete pipes due to sand mining," he said when met at the village today.
Mohamad Azam Zakaria, 62, said the sandbars which accumulated at the estuary during the monsoon season had made it difficult for some 200 fishermen here.
"When the sand mining workers and their excavators were operating at the site last year, we often told them to deepen the estuary but now they have all left.
"Now, the estuary has become shallow. Fishermen are forced to stop their boats near the shoreline and wait till high tide before they can enter the estuary.
"This cannot go on as we are wasting a lot of time (waiting for high tide), especially to refuel at the jetty.
"The shallow estuary is causing a headache. We have a lot of expenses like for the new school term, Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilfitri," he said.
Wholesaler Mohamad Rosliza Remeli, 44, said the shallow estuary was affecting fresh fish supplies as the wholesalers had to go to the shore to collect the catch instead of waiting at the jetty.
"I hope the authorities will help to deepen the estuary to make it easier for the fishing boats to go out to sea and return to the jetty," he said.
Beserah assemblyman Andansura Rabu said the district Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) had been informed about the shallow estuary and that they were identifying a long-term solution.
New Straits Times has contacted DID for comments.