Penang?s long coastline has provided important ecosystem services, food sources and livelihood for the community, especially the inshore fishermen which have been around for many generations. However, the rapidly urbanised state has somehow turned its back on the sea. It is only now valuable as a vista for selling properties, tourism development and land reclamation. The community taking the biggest brunt from this will be the inshore fishermen, who often lack the platform to have their voices heard? whose roles are poorly undervalued and thus easily traded off to allow unsustainable development.

Hence, the first objective is to foster an understanding of the urban population on the important role of the fishermen not only in food security, but also in environmental protection, along with their traditional and historical knowledge of the sea that has been handed down through generations. To address this, the proposed activity would consist of a form of collaborative training between fishermen, authorities and academicians targeted at the younger generation which will address the increasing youth unemployment, while raising the profile of fishermen and debunking their social stigma.

The project?s second objective is to facilitate the implementation of a fishery conservation zone, a condition given by the previous Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry to the Penang State government. Not only that, University Science Malaysia has proposed that the southern island of Pulau Kendi to be nominated as a marine park. Hence, the aim is to provide a compilation of information on fishermen and its wider community socioeconomic profile, fishery and biodiversity data, etc to facilitate the gazettement of these critical areas. These proposals are in line with the GEF/SGP Country Programme Strategy that focuses on the coastal Peninsular Malaysia in reference to green growth and protected areas, while aligning with food security and sustainable livelihood.

JEDI has formed a positive relationship with the leadership of the inshore fishing community throughout the ongoing, 2- year campaign against the land reclamation project. We saw a value and potential in expanding this unique partnership into new areas, in light of the issues presented in Section 1.2. In the face of the large looming threat from the massive reclamation project - it is even more imperative and time- critical that the knowledge, tradition, and heritage of the inshore fishermen are preserved for the future generation.

1) Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer
An area identified from JEDI?s constant interaction with the fishermen is the issue of the lack of interest or appreciation of the role and potential of inshore fishery among the younger generation. This could be partly caused by the social stigma that inshore fishing communities are plagued by poverty and poor quality of life. However, this cannot be further from the truth - as demonstrated during the pandemic lockdown. While it has badly hit the economy and countless many have faced retrenchment, the inshore fishermen were still thriving - many unemployed (especially the youths) sought job opportunities as fishing crew in their nearby fishing village, highlighting the fact that the sea is a robust industry.

It is therefore important to provide the younger generation an opportunity to consider inshore fishing or to learn and understand the vocation better. The younger generation is beginning to see that coastal fishing:

1. is a lucrative and noble career if being done sustainably.
2. is recession-proof job as proven during pandemic lockdown
3. is a job that brings an immediate and direct positive impact to its community, providing fresh, high quality and affordable sources of protein.

We will establish a unique mentorship programme that bridges the fishermen and the younger generation where traditional knowledge and understanding of the sea, inshore fishery and its ecosystems can be imparted by experienced fisherfolks. This programme can be designed with contributions mainly from the fisherfolks, academics and the relevant governmental bodies, which can later be adopted and expanded by the likes of the Fishery Department or the Fishery Development Authority.

While the main objective is mentorship in inshore fishing, the programme will include education of climate and environment, as well as the human rights of small fishers (as spelt out by the FAO). The fishermen also have a great environmental consciousness about the sea, and have been assisting JEDI with environmental monitoring (illegal dumping) as well as taking their own initiative (e.g. picking up plastic waste and rescuing turtles from ghost nets). The youth participants will be exposed to this way of seeing and understanding the natural realm. This could raise a whole new generation of coastal fishers - young, innovative and green minded.


2) Establishment of ?People?s Marine Park?
The gazettement of fishery protected zone and marine parks in Malaysia follows a rigid legal and scientific procedure which often does not take into due consideration the consequent successes and challenges in the management of these parks. In tandem with the intergenerational knowledge that must be preserved, the role of the inshore fishermen and their relationship and dependency on the sea are not well articulated or documented. This is in view of the proposal by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2019, that the Penang state government should implement a fishery conservation zone along the mangrove coastal zone of Pulau Betung, to Teluk Bahang and the gazettement of the Middle Bank seagrass area as well due to these ecosystem?s pivotal role in the marine fishery industry. Academicians and scientists at University Science of Malaysia have also proposed that Pulau Kendi to be gazetted as a marine park given its importance to the local fishery industry. For a successful fishery conservation zone and marine park to be established and maintained, there is a need to increase the participation and empowerment at the local community level, in order to cultivate a deep sense of ownership, recognition and improved knowledge of what the park does; including how it will be beneficial (and not detrimental) to the fishing community.

In addition, the inshore fishermen have seen the increased fish catch due to the artificial reefs that were installed around Pulau Kendi meant to prevent the illegal encroaching of trawlers that have been destroying the seabed. Not only that, Pulau Kendi has also been proposed as a ?snorkelling heaven?, aside from being a hotspot for recreational anglers. Given the boost of productivity, the conservation of Pulau Kendi should be further enhanced with legal protection from the gazettement, especially so when the proposed land reclamation would compromise the quality of marine environment for decades to come. Together with the establishment of the fishery conservation zone and Pulau Kendi as a marine park, which we would coin as ?People?s Marine Park? - Penang could set a good example of a networked ecosystem based conservation zone that includes the fishing community as a stakeholder in decision making and the management of this zone.