Climate change pushes Malaysia’s coastal fishermen away from the sea
Al Jazeera
Going to sea in small boats has become increasingly risky as the weather becomes unpredictable.
Gelang Patah, Malaysia – On an overcast morning six years ago, Mohammad Ridhwan Mohd Yazid was on his way back to Malaysia’s southern Johor coast when his small fishing boat was caught in a sudden storm.
In a matter of minutes, the calm southerly March winds transformed into gales whipping up high seas that slammed into his boat, knocking both him and the day’s catch into the air.
Alone and about a kilometre (about half a mile) from Singapore’s northwestern shore, Ridhwan landed back on the boat near its engine and turned quickly for land.
“I didn’t care that I lost half of what I caught that day. I just wanted to go home,” the 30-year-old told Al Jazeera in an interview at the coastal jetty in Pendas, a fishing village in Malaysia’s southern state of Johor.
Ridhwan’s tale is not an isolated one, but shared by many traditional Malaysian fishermen who have found themselves increasingly affected by the climate crisis, which is changing weather patterns that have long governed when and where they can fish.
