MOST fishermen from the southwest district of the Penang island are not concerned about the recent phenomenon, where the sea water off Permatang Damar Laut, had reportedly turned muddy.
Fisherman Sahari Zainol, from Sungai Batu, said that such incident was nothing out of the ordinary.
“It occurs several times a year due to the sea currents and change of weather. The currents bring up silt from the seabed and turn the sea water muddy,” he said.
Pasir Belanda fisherman Chia Swe Guan, from Teluk Kumbar, said such phenomenon occurred due to the change of wind direction – from ‘angin barat’ (west wind) to ‘angin selatan’ (south wind).
“We have seen this many times. It is quite normal,” Chia said.
Meanwhile, Permatang Tepi Laut fisherman Mansor Othman said coastal fishermen would have to go further out to sea to fish when such incident occurs.
“Such incident does not adversely impact fishing activities. When it happens, coastal fishermen can’t fish near the coast. They have to go further out to sea to catch fish,” he explained.
The fishermen were responding to the stakeholders engagement centre (Pusat Perkhidmatan Setempat Nelayan) following a news report that waters off Permatang Damar Laut had turned grey and muddy since last week.
The centre learnt that other areas, such as Permatang Tepi Laut, Binjai, Sungai Batu, Teluk Kumbar and Gertak Sanggul were not affected by the phenomenon.