The heavy haze that hit several states in the country has not only affect the people’s health, but also the source of income of certain groups, especially traditional fishermen in Selangor.
Kuala Selangor Fishermen’s Association chairman Omar Abdul Rahman told Bernama that the income of 1,000 of the association’s members were badly affected by the hazy condition.
As such, he said the association had made an application for aid and assistance from the state government, but had yet to receive any feedback.
The association would also like to call on the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry to consider the proposal to increase the cost of living allowance for fishermen to RM400 from the current RM200 to ease their burden, he said.
Meanwhile, Selangor Fisheries Department officer Saufi Affandi Talib said the limited visibility caused by the haze had made it difficult for the traditional fishermen using small boats to operate as usual.
“Right now, some of the fishermen can go no further than about one or two nautical miles from the beach,” he told Bernama here today.
Sauffi Affandi the limited visibility could also caused the fishermen to get caught in drift nets as they could not see the buoys.
He also advised the fishermen who still keen on going fishing during the hazy condition to bring safety jackets, flash lights and other safety tools.
Most areas in Selangor still recorded unhealthy air quality as at 7am today, with Port Klang registered the highest Air Pollutant Index (API) of 140.
Other areas in Selangor with unhealthy API readings are Kuala Selangor (134), Petaling Jaya (111), Banting (114) and Shah Alam.
2013 BERNAMA