ILLEGAL TRAWLING IN SINGAPORE (Action against)

Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for National Development how many raids have been carried out to apprehend illegal trawlers in the Singapore Straits and what measure of success has been achieved.

The Minister for National Development (Mr Teh Cheang Wan): Mr Speaker, Sir, there is little fishing activity in the Singapore Territorial Waters.

There were reports of illegal fishing activities in the Straits of Johore. Illegal trawlers normally operate under cover of darkness using very fast boats. They are therefore difficult to apprehend. The Primary Production Department in 1978 carried out 38 enforcement patrols along the Straits of Johore. Arising from these patrols, the PPD arrested four persons for illegal trawling and seized four fishing boats. The offenders were prosecuted in court.