NParks nabs more for poaching, illegal fishing

Rise in notices of offences, but this may partly be due to better enforcement
By Feng Zengkun, Environment Correspondent, The Straits Times, 14 Jan 2015

CASES of poaching in Singapore's parks and nature reserves appear to be on the rise, although this could be partly due to greater enforcement efforts.

The National Parks Board (NParks) handed out 273 notices of offences for poaching last year, up from 191 notices in 2013 and 106 in 2012.

Illegal fishing made up the bulk of the cases. Poaching of other animals and plants made up just 21 of the 570 notices in the past three years.

The agency provided these figures in response to queries. It is now investigating a case of alleged illegal fishing within the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve last Sunday.

A member of the public who alerted the agency also e-mailed photos of the alleged incident to the media purportedly showing people pulling a net from the reserve's water while sitting on a makeshift floating platform.

NParks said yesterday that it had sent officers to the scene immediately after being notified.

With the help of the police, the people allegedly involved in the activity were questioned and the net was confiscated.

The agency was unable to provide more information as investigations are ongoing.

A spokesman noted that Singapore's nature reserves cover a large area of some 4,000ha.

"One of our challenges in managing them is when people conduct activities such as illegal fishing and poaching in the reserves," he said.

To curtail such acts, NParks conducts regular patrols, including at night, with the help of volunteers whom it trains.

"For the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in particular... when our officers on patrol spot people outside the reserve boundary attempting to enter the reserve to set up nets, we work together with the police to advise them not to continue with their activities," said the spokesman.

He added that through such preventive measures, there are few instances of illegal fishing in the Sungei Buloh reserve.

In the past three years, NParks has issued just three notices of offences for this.

Almost all of the 549 illegal fishing cases from 2012 to last year took place in other parks and nature reserves.

Under the Parks and Trees Act, anyone who removes an animal or plant from a national park or nature reserve without permission can be fined up to $50,000 or jailed up to six months, or both, upon conviction.

Mr Solomon Anthony, 36, a volunteer at the Sungei Buloh reserve, said he had seen poachers laying nets early in the morning to avoid being caught, and they usually collect the nets in the evening when there are fewer people.

He had alerted NParks, "but these poachers usually do their work in the reserve's fringes, which makes it easier for them to get away", he said.