ECER to get two fish processing centres

KOTA BHARU: The East Coast Economic Region (ECER) will have two new fish processing
centres under the control of Fisheries Development Board Malaysia that will focus on
downstream fisheries activities, including processed and fish-based food products.
The centres, which would be based in Kuala Besar in Kelantan and Kuala Besut in
Terengganu, aimed to improve revenue and boost the earnings of fishermen.
The centres would monitor food processing methods, quality, standardisation, packaging,
presentation and branding to help the local fishermen penetrate new markets.
They will act as accreditation centres for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), halal and
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) certifications.
The Kuala Besar centre would focus on fish floss, anchovy crisps and fish-based rolls,
while Kuala Besut would be the base for keropok lekor and fish-based otoshimi.
Before this, downstream processing of fish in ECER was limited, and nearly 78% of the
catch was disposed of fresh, mostly to distant markets.
There is very little revenue capture through value-adding in the East Coast states, even
though they are among the largest producers of captured fish in the industry.
The fisheries board’s director-general Mustafa Ahmad said the board had been tasked
with managing and monitoring 13 fish landing complexes in ECER – three in Kelantan,
four in Pahang and six in Terengganu, with a total capacity of 138,000 tonnes.
“This is expected to increase by another 38,000 tonnes with the completion of Tok Bali’s
fish landing point,” he said.
— The Edge Daily