“Fighting Illegal Fisheries” is a comprehensive documentary about sustainable fishery production and current challenges in the Gulf of Mottama, Myanmar. The Gulf of Mottama Project is financed by the Swiss Government and implemented by a consortium of Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation (lead), NAG, and IUCN. The project, in collaboration with D. Mon Multimedia Production Group, has conducted many field trips to fishing villages and their respective fishery associations in the Gulf of Mottama area to interview small-scale fishermen, fish collectors, and key persons from the Fishery Development Association (FDA) and Myanmar Fishery Federation (MFF).
This documentary highlights the rapidly declining fishing resources in the Gulf of Mottama due to the illegal use of the small mash net size (called Than Zagar Pike) and other illegal fishing practices that prevent fish from reproducing. According to U Shwe Aung, Kyaikhto FDA’s Chairman, weakness in law enforcement is one of the major problems in being able to fully eliminate illegal fishing. He further explained that more than 80 boats are known to operate illegally in the Gulf of Mottama’s fishing grounds, threatening the sustainable reproduction of fish species and menacing small-scale fishermen's livelihoods.
Since 2018, with the support of the Gulf of Mottama Project, the local fishermen and respective representatives from MFF, FDA, and the Department of Fisheries (Mon State and Bago Region) have conducted regular patrolling activities in the Gulf of Mottama with the aim of conserving fisheries resources and combating illegal fishing. However, until today, illegal fishing continues to take place in some areas, and its abrogation is the main stakeholder’s challenge.