PNBK secretary Pandi Suhaili said none of their 700-odd members had any unpleasant encounter with the chartered foreign boats so far, but there had been a number of occasions when local trawlers intruded into their fishing grounds.

"We have seen some of these big boats trawl as close as 10 nautical miles (nM) from the shore off Similajau, Kuala Tatau and right up to Mukah, especially during the prawns' migration season," he claimed during an interview yesterday.

To his knowledge, trawling is allowed only in areas beyond 20 nM offshore as the method can haul up almost everything including immature fish and other marine creatures.

He further claimed that there had been several occasions when the big vessels hit the nets of their members and caused damages of up to RM3000 – a big figure for most of the fishermen.

In addition to these expenses, the damages also interrupted the members’ operations in that the net owners have to spend a lot of time on land mending their nets or seeking for replacements.

For their small operations, a small-time fisherman could gross around RM300 worth of catch in a single outing.

As far as the association was concerned, Pandi said, the members would continue to go out to sea despite the move by the Bintulu Fishing Association to cease their operations for two-weeks following conflicts with chartered Thai fishing vessels.

“We have nothing against the (Bintulu Fishing Association) , or with the charted vessels.  Our members need to go out to sea to continue earning their living, ” he said.