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Radars, drones to fight fish bombing

Amy Dangin (left), moderator of the session, with Dunson on the webinar.

KOTA KINABALU: Radars with camera attached and drones will soon be incorporated to the underwater fish bomb sensors deployed in Sabah waters to provide better real time information and visual confirmation to local enforcement.

Stop Fish Bombing Malaysia executive director Terence Lim said misinformation and delay reporting of detected blast have led to frustration for both the person who reported the fish bombing incident and the responding personnel.

“With the additional radar and drone, coupled with the underwater sensors, we hope to bridge the gap of any delayed or inaccurate info.”

He said that in a webinar on “Fish-Bomb-Free-Sabah” under the “Blue Hope on Commonwealth Day” initiative by the British High Commissioner (BHC) Kuala Lumpur together with The Royal Commonwealth Society of Malaysia, and hosted by Asia Dive Expo (ADEX).

Lim said Stop Fish Bombing Malaysia had been deploying underwater bomb detection sensors in Sabah waters since 2019, especially in Kota Kinabalu and parts of Semporna.

“We have a total of 12 sensors in these waters, covering about 50 square kilometres (sq km).”

He said the non-governmental organization (NGO) had obtained additional funding to expand the area of coverage by an additional 50 sq km this year, bringing the total area under surveillance to 100 sq km.

“However, this is only a small fraction of Sabah’s coastline, which is more than 2,500 km long.”

Besides, Lim said some areas were very remote and did not have cellphone coverage to link the sensors.

“We need continuous support both financially and from the local authorities to ensure we have full coverage of the installed fish bomb sensors to achieve our fish-bomb-free-Sabah goal.”

He said in Stop Fish Bombing Malaysia’s continuation of deployment and development of technology, radars with camera and drones would be incorporated to enhance the capability of the underwater sensors.

He said doing so would enable the team to provide the best real time information and visual confirmation to the local enforcement personnel.

He added that Stop Fish Bombing Malaysia was also making progress with the development of mounted sensors that would enhance and expand the coverage and capacity of the sensors, particularly in locations lacking secure platform to mount the device.

Nevertheless, Lim said technology was only part of the solution in combating fish bombing activities.

He said alternative sources of income have to be created to allow communities to continue support their families.

Hence, he said Stop Fish Bombing Malaysia and United States’ webpages have been actively promoting fundraising to generate funds to help with technological development, creation of micro funds for the communities and upkeep of the deployed sensors.

He stressed that fish bombing was not only happening in Sabah, but all over the world.

“We have to find a solution so that the future generation will not blame us for doing nothing.”

Meanwhile, Clark Dunson, the director of technology of Stop Fish Bombing USA, said the radar allowed enforcement to better pinpoint the location of fish bombers.

“If they (enforcement personnel) are quick, they (fish bombers) will still be there collecting fish.

“If they are not, the radar will track the location (of the fish bombers).”

He added that the radar would also target a drone to fly to the location where the fish bomb was detected to collect evidence.

He said the system would be effective in catching and locating fish bombs and the perpetrators.






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