Facts about Penang's seafood supply, marine lives, fishermen and south reclamation project

Fishermen boats at Permatang Damar Laut, near the area earmarked for Penang South Islands

Studies on 7,800 marine species around the world’s ecosystems by global marine experts concluded that nearly 90% of global fish stocks were either fully fished or overfished.
(Source: https://tinyurl.com/skdx5qq)

The recent case of a turtle was hurt in Penang sea was not because of reclamation but because of fishermen net.
(https://tinyurl.com/wlx9hu9)

Penang’s fish supply from sea-fishing only contributes 4% to national output, which makes Penang the fourth lowest in Malaysia.
(Source: Lembaga Kemajuan Ikan Malaysia, Laporan Risikan Pasaran Tahunan 2017, p.13: https://tinyurl.com/rko2b2w)

Overfishing in Penang was so critical that in 2015 the fisheries department had to restrict the issuance of license to fishing vessels, reducing them by 30%. However, that did not deter overfishing as unlicensed fishermen continue to purge the sea.
(https://tinyurl.com/rg9rwsb)

Biggest factor affecting seafood supply and marine life is overfishing, not reclamation. It is not engineers, project managers, developers, or property owners that overfish the sea - they have their own job.

The solution to overfishing by fishermen is to shift the reliance of seafood supply from sea-fishing to aquaculture. Penang’s aquaculture production valued only at RM180 million in 2008. Ten years later in 2018, after state government's reforming the aquaculture licensing, Penang's aquaculture produce rose to RM1.3 billion – more than 600% increase.
(Sources: https://tinyurl.com/qnsouxj, https://tinyurl.com/spnhyea)

Currently, Penang is the top producer of aquaculture fish in Malaysia. Penang’s aquaculture shift is so well-known in the seafood industry that it is featured in Nikkei Asian Review (the financial newspapers with the largest circulation in the world). Penang is the only state with 50% seafood supply from aquaculture.
(https://tinyurl.com/tjt2nfy, https://tinyurl.com/qnsouxj)

Reclamation has been practiced for centuries around the world in some of the places best known for their care for the environment. For example, the Netherlands’ history of reclamation stretches back to more than 800 years ago. The estimated size of their total reclaimed land is approximately 650,000 hectares. The world’s largest reclaimed land, the Flevopolder in the Netherlands, reclaimed from 1955 to 1968 at 97,000 hectares. Netherlands is among the top ten most sustainable countries in the world.
(Sources: R. J. de Glopper, H. Smits, 'Reclamation of land from the sea and lakes in the Netherlands,' Outlook on Agriculture, vol. 8, issue 3, (1974):148; Jan Zalasiewicz, Colin N. Waters, Mark Williams, and Colin P. Summerhayes (eds.), The Anthropocene as a Geological Time Unit: A Guide to the Scientific Evidence and Current Debate (UK: Cambridge University Press, 2019), p.77; Bertelsmann Stiftung and Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Sustainable Development Report 2019, p.20: https://tinyurl.com/vn7h8o8)

Japan’s largest industrialised area, the Tokyo Bay was partially built on reclaimed land with history of more than 400 years. During the Edo era, 2,700 hectares were reclaimed over a period of 270 years. Another 6,000 hectares were reclaimed from Meiji era to the present, over 140 years. Today, there are more than 71,000 hectares of reclaimed land all over Japan.
(Sources: Takeshi Endoh, 'Historical Review of Reclamation Works in the Tokyo Bay Area,' Journal of Geography, vol. 113, issue 6, (2004), https://tinyurl.com/qlfrpx4)

Singapore’s land area was expanded by 13,800 hectares reclaimed between 1965 and 2015. Their government noted the need to add another 5,600 hectares of reclaimed land by 2030. An estimated sum of RM300 billion (SGD$100 billion) will be spent on reclamation projects for development and adapting to sea level rise. Right now, the city-state is reclaiming from sea to build the world’s largest container terminal port. And Singapore is the world's second most sustainable city after Zurich.
(Sources: https://tinyurl.com/uykxr9v, https://tinyurl.com/y3dflzjw, https://tinyurl.com/y6gz6zpo, https://tinyurl.com/lem9kg9)

Denmark will begin in 2022 to build nine artificial islands to expand the industrial area near the coast of Copenhagen to attract up to 380 new businesses and create 12,000 jobs. Denmark is the top most sustainable country in the world, with highest score in United Nations' sustainable development index, and they are developing new islands. Being sustainable and carrying out reclamation are not contradiction in term of sustainable development.
(Sources: https://tinyurl.com/ut3b75y, Bertelsmann Stiftung and Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Sustainable Development Report 2019, p.20: https://tinyurl.com/vn7h8o8)

Even among Malaysian states, reclamation for development had been practiced, on-going, and being planned to raise the socioeconomic profile of each state. To name a few examples: Kelantan’s KB Waterfront at Lembah Sireh, Melaka’s RM42 billion Melaka Gateway, Pahang’s RM15 billion Kuantan Waterfront, Perak’s Marina Island, Sabah’s KK Resort City, Johor’s Forest City, Terengganu’s Sunrise City at Kuala Nerus. All these are reclamation projects.

Countries around the world and various states in Malaysia are developing and growing through reclamation projects. Penang has seen its own development and growth through reclamation projects such as the stretch along Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway, Karpal Singh Drive, Straits Quay, Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone, and Weld Quay area.

Many Penangites today work, live, travel, and spend their leisure time on these reclaimed lands.

Penang despite having more than 400 hectares of reclaimed land has spotted dolphins swimming around the island. In November 2019, dolphins were spotted near the Second Penang Bridge, which is a reclaimed spot. Marine lives do grow and move around reclaimed sites.
(Source: https://tinyurl.com/sp3rrbt)

There are fishermen in the southern part of Penang who want the new islands as the project will create job opportunities for them and their children. These fishermen are featured in TV3’s program recently, and in an earlier video meeting with AnakPinang group.
(Sources: https://tinyurl.com/va9hyvj, https://tinyurl.com/t5ul5sx)

Two stakeholders’ engagement centres (‘Pusat Perkhidmatan Setempat Nelayan’) have been set up in the fishermen’s villages since 2016 to register fishermen for jobs. Currently, there are more than 600 job registrations collected in the two centres near the area earmarked for the new islands.
(Source: https://tinyurl.com/wx78xhm)