GELANG PATAH: Fisherman Abdul Rahman Salleh put his 11 children through school on the money that he made catching fish in the Sungai Pulai estuary.

He even bought a low-cost house in Desaru, from the income that he made selling the grouper, snapper, pomfret and lobster that he landed. But these days, he has little to show for hours of work.

He even bought a low-cost house in Desaru, from the income that he made selling the grouper, snapper, pomfret and lobster that he landed.

But these days, he has little to show for hours of work.

"Today, we're lucky to catch a handful of prawns," said the 55-year-old chairman of the Kampung Ladang Hujung Fishermen's Club.
 
Abdul Rahman, who represents 500 fishermen from Pendas to Gelang Patah, has been forced to sell his house to make ends meet.
He said the estuary's bounty has been in decline over the last 20 years following the construction of a port, bridge and power plant.
 
As if that were not bad enough, there are now plans to build an industrial estate in the area which will host heavy industries.
 
These include makers of plastics, paints, pesticides and chemical products. There will also be a chemical incinerator and facilities to process toxic and hazardous wastes.
 
Part of the development eats into a 91sq km area that is gazetted as protected wetlands under the Ramsar Convention.
 
More than 900ha of mangroves could be cleared and 15ha of submerged land along the river's west bank reclaimed, according to the mandatory study on the project's environmental impact.

This could cause some 500 families living here to lose their traditional way of life and source of income.

"For many generations, we have depended on the estuary for our livelihood. We have a right to be consulted first," said Abdul Rahman.

The development could also threaten the estuary's wildlife, such as the spotted seahorse and dugong.

Twenty years ago, a substantial tract of mangrove forest was cleared to build the port and power plant. This resulted in heavy silting which led to heavy growth of seaweed.

This, in turn, blocked sunlight filtering down to the sea grass beds, reducing the amount of food that was available to fish, prawns and dugong.

Fish stocks fell. Catches were so small, the club's deputy chairman Hanuar Isa, 41, could not afford to pay for repairs to his boat.

He said the seaweed itself posed a big problem, snarling fishermen's nets.

Let down in the 1980s by unfulfilled promises of compensation, the fishermen now oppose the new project.

"We won't be silent anymore and will do everything in our power to halt this plan," said Abdul Rahman. He even bought a low-cost house in Desaru, from the income that he made selling the grouper, snapper, pomfret and lobster that he landed.

But these days, he has little to show for hours of work.

"Today, we're lucky to catch a handful of prawns," said the 55-year-old chairman of the Kampung Ladang Hujung Fishermen's Club.

Abdul Rahman, who represents 500 fishermen from Pendas to Gelang Patah, has been forced to sell his house to make ends meet.
He said the estuary's bounty has been in decline over the last 20 years following the construction of a port, bridge and power plant.

As if that were not bad enough, there are now plans to build an industrial estate in the area which will host heavy industries.

These include makers of plastics, paints, pesticides and chemical products. There will also be a chemical incinerator and facilities to process toxic and hazardous wastes.

Part of the development eats into a 91sq km area that is gazetted as protected wetlands under the Ramsar Convention.

More than 900ha of mangroves could be cleared and 15ha of submerged land along the river's west bank reclaimed, according to the mandatory study on the project¡¦s environmental impact.

This could cause some 500 families living here to lose their traditional way of life and source of income.

"For many generations, we have depended on the estuary for our livelihood. We have a right to be consulted first," said Abdul Rahman.

The development could also threaten the estuary's wildlife, such as the spotted seahorse and dugong.

Twenty years ago, a substantial tract of mangrove forest was cleared to build the port and power plant. This resulted in heavy silting which led to heavy growth of seaweed.

This, in turn, blocked sunlight filtering down to the sea grass beds, reducing the amount of food that was available to fish, prawns and dugong.

Fish stocks fell. Catches were so small, the club's deputy chairman Hanuar Isa, 41, could not afford to pay for repairs to his boat.

He said the seaweed itself posed a big problem, snarling fishermen's nets.

Let down in the 1980s by unfulfilled promises of compensation, the fishermen now oppose the new project.

"We won't be silent anymore and will do everything in our power to halt this plan," said Abdul Rahman.