A Bioeconomic Analysis of the East Johore Prawn Fishery

This study presents the results of the bioeconomic simulations of the east Johore prawn fishery. There are about 17 praml species in east Johore but the model was based on an aggregated prawn fishery harvested by three methods: traditional (consisting of traps and drift nets), small trawlers, and large trawlers. The model was used to simulate several management alternatives (I) limited entry regulation (affecting the number of boats) (2) mesh size regulation (by varying the age at first capture) and (3) combination of these two measures. The base model simulates the actual fishery fairly well and the simulation points to the need to reduce fleet size and increase the age at first capture. The best combination was obtained by a reduction of fleet size by 10% from the current level of about 800 vessels and an increase of age at first capture from the base value of four to six months

Evaluation of Malaysia’s food balance of trade plan : achievement rates.

Malaysia has always been a net food importer in the last four decades. In 2007, the deficit in the food trade stood at RM9.7 billion (or USD2.9 billion). In 2002, Malaysia implemented a policy towards achieving a surplus balance of trade in food of RM1.2 billion (or USD352 billion) by 2010. This paper evaluates the policy in terms of the achievement rates of the plan. The analysis suggests that the actual trade data shows the intended targets are likely not to be met; in fact the deficit is expected to grow bigger with time. While the objective was commendable, the targets, rationales and strategies for such a plan require a serious rethinking

Small and medium food enterprises in Malaysia: institutional support and policy perspectives

In Malaysia, SMEs constitute 99.2 per cent of the manufacturing establishments while the food SMEs or SMFES account for only about 1 per cent of the total. The SMEs are engine of growth, growing at a rate higher than the country’s average growth rate. However, the SMFEs sector has not progressed in tandem with the increase in demand for food due to rise in population and income. Malaysia has instituted a number of policy innovations to steer its SME development through the National SME Development Council (NSDC), which mobilizes 15 ministries and 60 agencies to support this sector on all aspects—finance, infrastructure, entrepreneurial training, legal support and so on. This article provides a review of the SMFEs in Malaysia and examines the institutional support available for this sector. The article concludes that despite the support provided, the SMFEs are plagued with structural problems that require more than institutional support and that include R&D and innovation, infrastructural development and specific policies to address their unique problems

Indicators of governance of marine ecotourism resources: perception of communities in Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu

To be effective, the establishment of the Marine Protected Areas requires support from various stakeholders, which are directly or indirectly affected by the establishment. The support of relevant agencies to manage the Marine Protected Areas may depend on how the communities perceive the benefits of the establishment. The objective of this paper is to present the results of an analysis on the perception of local communities on the governance of the Marine Protected Areas by the relevant agencies. Data for the study were collected from members of the local communities on Pulau Perhentian using face-to-face interviews. The results show that most members of these communities were aware of the establishment of the Marine Protected Areas, though some were doubtful of the actual benefits of the establishment. Communities on Pulau Perhentian, which were directly dependent on the marine resources for their ecotourism-related businesses, were quite apprehensive of the ability of relevant agencies to act on reducing the encroachment of fishers in protected zones. Generally, the local communities agreed that the relevant agency were doing a good job of enforcing rules and regulations to protect the resources in the marine ecosystem. The cooperation among the stakeholders in adapting to the norms of governance was perceived as helpful in affecting the management of Marine Protected Areas

Cost analysis of rice milling: a case study of 7 rice mills in Malaysia

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the long-run profitability of rice milling operation in Malaysia and see how sensitive it is to changes in paddy purchases, rice recovery ratio and paddy price. Design/methodology/approach - Using a purposive sampling technique and semi-structured interviews, seven rice mills in Malaysia were selected to obtain data on operational details and business accounts. The paper provides a qualitative and descriptive account of the rice mill’s profitability by using cost curves, a simple linear regression and the Monte Carlo simulation. Findings - The rice milling operation in Malaysia is profitable in the long run, provided that there is a market for by-products. Large private mills have lower average costs, helping them obtain higher profit margins. Public mills that receive a rice miller subsidy are more protected than small private mills that operate without the rice miller subsidy and under price controls. Changes in paddy purchases, paddy price and recovery ratio affect the profitability to varying degrees. Research limitations/implications - Incomplete information provided by the interviewees. The analysis result is only a rough estimate. However, it may provide a useful insight into the Malaysian rice milling sector and its competitiveness. Originality/value - There are few economic studies of the rice milling sector in Malaysia. However, it plays an important role along the rice supply chain. There is a need for better understanding of the industry in order to obtain economic sustainability and effective policies. This paper provides the gap by providing an insight into the long-run profitability of rice milling operation in Malaysia

Economic impact of artificial reefs: a case study of small scale fishers in Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia

This paper examines the economic benefits of artificial reefs (ARs) on artisanal fishers in Terengganu in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The data for this study was obtained from interviews with 290 artisanal fishers from three districts of Terengganu, using a structured questionnaire. The study found that for fishers, income from fishing was significantly lower in AR areas, compared to non-AR areas. The income of the fishers who used drift nets as their main fishing gear was significantly lower in AR areas. This indicates that income from fishing was not attributable to the AR programme in Malaysia. The results suggest that artificial reefs may not be effective at increasing catch and income for artisanal fishers in Terengganu. Furthermore, the larger-engined boats gained substantial fishing income, which seems to reflect unequal distribution of benefits, because only those who could invest in fishing equipment and who spent more on fishing operations were able to gain maximum benefits. The results suggest that the current use of multiple gear in the same fishing locations created conflicts between various groups of fishers, and increased fishing costs. These conflicts could be reduced if the artificial reef locations are clearly marked and they established user rights among various fisher groups. The fisheries agencies involved in artificial reefs programme should ensure that artificial reef development produces positive social and economic benefits for the local fishing communities through sustainable fisheries management in Malaysia

Modeling and projection of fish supply and demand in Malaysia, 2000-2020.

The fishery sector in Malaysia is expected to play important roles in eradicating poverty, increasing food security and helping to reverse the deficit food trade balance. In the Third Malaysian National Agriculture Policy Plan, the production target for the sector is to increase from 1.45 million mt in 2000 to two million mt by 2010. Adapting from the AsiaFish model, a disaggregated fish supply and demand model for Malaysia is constructed to analyse whether the fishery sector can live up to the expectations. The model consists of the producer, consumer and trade cores as well as the model closure equation. It is used to project fish supply, demand and trade in Malaysia from 2000 to 2020, given that existing conditions in the fishery sector and general economy persist into the future. The results appear to indicate that the Malaysian fishery sector may not be able to make significant contribution to the objectives above. Efforts need to be stepped up in order to increase fish production, reducing fish prices and increasing net value of fish trade

Assessment of governance of fisher communities of inland openwater fisheries in Bangladesh

The Community Based Fisheries Management (CBFM) with partnership arrangement of government, non-government organisations, fisher communities and other stakeholders has introduced community management of inland openwater fisheries in Bangladesh. This arrangement introduced CBFM approaches named fisher-led, community-led and women-led approach. One of the principles behind community based managed fisheries is to improve democratisation process of changing governance of fisheries aiming to manage their resources efficiently. The CBFM approach has made a significant contribution towards improvement of governance and democracy to fisher communities. Besides, a wider range of local institutional arrangements as community based organizations (CBOs) have been established through participatory process with legal entity. Now, there is practice of governance and democracy within CBOs and fisher communities. They are more efficient in participation of fisheries management. This paper presents and assesses the governance status of the fisher communities in inland openwater fisheries under co-management arrangement in Bangladesh. In summary, it might recommend at policy level to scale up community based fisheries approach to promote governance for better management with a long term commitment

Market potential analysis for tengas (Neolissochilus sp.) in the Malaysian market

There are some signals that Malaysian marine landings are decreasing and that wild stocks have been over-fished. However, it has extensive inland water bodies which have the potentials to be developed into freshwater aquaculture sites. Tengas (Neolissochilus sp.), a freshwater type of fish, are found in abundance in Malaysia; but has not reached the commercial level in the market. This paper examines the potential of developing tengas as a commercial freshwater species. The data used in this study were obtained through primary data search from key informants and a survey. A semi-structured open-ended questionnaire with Malay and Chinese languages was designed for the interviews. The study areas covered Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia. From the survey, we found that tengas has potential to be taken as a food item and an ornamental fish. The wild stock of tengas in fact is also worthwhile to be conserved for agro-tourism development. Many restaurant operators are willing to invent cooking method on tengas

Household expenditure on food away from home by type of meal in Malaysia

This paper analyses the household food-away-from-home (FAFH) expenditure pattern in Malaysia. For this purpose, the Tobit model was used to quantify the responsiveness of households' expenditure on FAFH to changes in their income and the household characteristics. The results show that households` FAFH expenditure has increased due to rise in income and changing lifestyle. Meanwhile, the household income has statistically significant influence on the FAFH expenditure for all types of meals, except for breakfast, although the FAFH expenditure for breakfast is positive. The positive effect of the total household income shows Malaysian households spent more by eating out as they have to spend more time at work and less time to prepare food at home. Breakfasts and lunches away from home have positive and inelastic income. The results indicate that household members have less choice but to consume breakfast and lunch away from home as their workplaces are usually far away from their homes and thus consume these meals at home are not cost-effective. They have greater flexibility in making decisions whether to consume at home or away from home for dinner and other meal. The estimated conditional and unconditional income elasticity for the households` FAFH expenditure for all types of meals shows that the FAFH expenditures by Malaysian households are income inelastic. This implies that the growth in the FAFH sector will largely be driven by household demographics, ethnic characteristics and region in Malaysia. The government should take appropriate measures to ensure that the meals are of high nutritious values, safe, and reasonably priced