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| Yahya getting ready to beat a gong as a symbolic launch of the seminar. |
KOTA KINABALU: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Yahya Hussin
has called for a collaborative effort to address the problems of the
marine ecosystem sustainability.
Yahya pointed out that marine and
coastal resources industries in the world are reported to represent
more than five percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP) and
oceans also provide the so-called ‘non-market’ benefits such as climate
regulation, carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation.
All
these services will be downgraded or lost if oceans are not in a good
state of health, so how can we afford to ignore the oceans? he
questioned.
Speaking at the launching of the ‘Annual International
Seminar on Marine Science & Aquaculture: Ocean Health & Our
Future’ yesterday, Yahya pointed out that since fish landings from the
captured fisheries are not increasing to match demand, aquaculture has
to develop to supplement fish supply.
“The current level of
production which is reported to be more than 63 million tons is not
enough to meet human requirements. I know there are challenges in its
developments but they have to be addressed.
“If as a result of
exchange of experience and knowledge among the delegates, suitable
strategies which are also relevant locally happen to emerge, kindly let
us know. We would like to take up the matter for follow-up action,” he
said in his speech at the seminar organised by the Borneo Marine
Research Institute of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).
“We are
open to ideas and willing to act on scientific evidences presented to us
in a way that policies could be evolved based on sound decisions,” the
Agriculture and Food Industry Minister added.
According to Yahya,
Malaysia, and Sabah especially, prides itself on having a rich culture
where the marine heritage has played a very important role in peoples’
lifestyles and the government will spare no efforts to protect those
cultural and traditional interests of its ocean citizens.
“These
very resources are facing the threat to their sustainability. I believe
if scientists, social scientists, policy makers and other stakeholders
come together to address the problems of the marine ecosystem, we can
collectively make a difference for the benefit of current and future
generations,” he said.
Yahya pointed out that with oceans covering
more than 70 per cent of the earth surface and their health linked so
closely to human welfare, the ever increasing importance of this vast
body of water is understandable.
“As our knowledge of the oceans
increased over recent decades, our perceptions have also changed, making
us think rationally about limits of acceptable change in the marine
ecosystem,” he said, adding that the vastness of oceans and their
enormous capacity to absorb impacts does not make them immune to human
actions.
This, he said, is evident from the changes in ocean
chemistry, most prominently acidification, and decline in biodiversity
and fisheries resources.
The ecosystem degradation, Yahya
stressed, is not confined to the coastal belt but spreads to remote
areas due to water movement and pollutants introduced locally become a
global problem in the course of time.
Their biomagnification in
marine organisms consumed by humans creates health hazards, he said and
added that oceans are a common necessity that needs to be protected by
all and for all.
This, opined Yahya, calls for worldwide efforts
and despite advancement in fishing technology, the captured fisheries
production has not improved beyond the 90 million tons worldwide and
many of the commercially important fish stocks have lost sustainability.
Globally,
fish have been harvested at a rate far beyond their reproductive
capacity of replenishment and this is the most serious challenge to
sustainable management of commercial fisheries, he said.
“In
addition to direct pressure on seafood resources, habitat degradation,
biodiversity loss and effects of climate change are acting
simultaneously to threaten sustainability. Besides seafood, the oceans
also support the economic sectors such as tourism, shipping and energy.
“They
offer opportunities for sourcing pharmaceuticals to treat human
diseases and cosmetic products. In fact, the marine bio prospecting is
an increasingly important topic for the pharmaceutical industry,” Yahya
said.
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