Illegal Fishing in Singapore: How is it affecting otters?

Fishing at Marina Bay is illegal, yet fishing enthusiasts are still heading down to cast their lines with complete disregard for marine life that are living in close proximity. Otters that live in the Bishan-Marina Bay area have been found with embedded fish hooks and fishing lines in their bodies. What could be done to rectify this situation?

Darishini Thiyagarajan 04 January 2017

_{(Photo credits: OtterWatch)}

On the morning of January 2, this year, a female otter was spotted at Marina Bay with her newborn pups. What stood out, however, was the fishing hook and line embedded in her body. A regular cyclist in the Marina Bay area (who also happens to be an otter enthusiast) was taking a video of the otter family but didn’t notice the fish hook in the otter’s body until he went home to review the footage taken.

As the family of otters made their way up to the Marina Bay floating platform, otter enthusiasts spotted more fish hooks—leading them to believe that irresponsible fishing enthusiasts were the reason behind the accidental hooking of the mother otter. This is not the first of such occurrences—last year, an otter pup was spotted with a fish hook in its eye. The pup recovered from the wounds without any external help, but the incident definitely angered animal lovers who took to social media to chide the irresponsible fishing enthusiasts who had caused this.

An online local otter community, OtterWatch, posted pictures of the injured mother otter on their Facebook page in concern for her welfare. They also highlighted the plight of these otters and how the community is unable to do anything to resolve this issue—except for constantly monitoring the otter family and their surroundings. This post chalked up more than 100 likes and shares, with over 70 comments from animal lovers that hoped the authorities would take action regarding illegal fishing and the impacts on marine life.

Following this case, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) issued out a statement about their stand on this situation—surveillance patrols would be stepped up at the Marina Bay area. The spokesman for PUB mentioned that their officers will “carry out daily surveillance at the reservoirs and take enforcement action against illegal fishing—fishing at no-fishing areas and/or using live bait”.

It was reported that the PUB had issued about 400 summonses for illegal fishing in 2015, and close to 500 in 2014. Fishing enthusiasts can partake in their interests at legal fishing areas like the designated fishing areas at Marina Reservoir, and the two stretches of designated fishing areas at the Kallang Basin.

Penalties for being caught illegally fishing and/or using live bait would include a fine of up to $3,000. If you do happen to see anyone fishing illegally at a no-fishing area or using live bait to fish, do call the PUB hotline at 1800-2255-782 to report the incident with important information like the date, time, and location of the incident—photos and videos would be greatly appreciated.