Mussel farming project aims to provide additional income for Orang Asli in Seletar

JOHOR BAHRU, Aug 6 (Bernama) – The mussel farming project, a Petronas-Pengerang Refining and Petrochemical (PRefChem) joint collaboration dedicated to the Orang Asli in Seletar, Masai, here, aims to provide an additional RM200 income to the targeted group.

Petronas Refinery and Petrochemical Corporation Sdn Bhd (PRPC) Head of Stakeholder, Communication and Risk Management Division, Petrochemical Corporation (PRPC) Sdn Bhd, Datin Anita Azrina Abdul Aziz said the three-year project under the Livelihood Restoration Programme was run with an allocation of RM1.5 million.

It will also be implemented in two phases, involving a total of 100 Orang Asli in Seletar from five villages namely, Kampung Pasir Salam in Ulu Tiram; Kampung Pasir Putih, Kampung Kuala Masai, Kampung Teluk Jawa and Kampung Teluk Kabong in the Pasir Gudang vicinity. 

She said for the first phase, 30,000 'collector lines' would be provided to the fishermen to breed the mussels while for the next phase another 20,000 would be provided.

“For the first phase, we have installed three large mussel traplines (equivalent to 3,000 small traplines) in Kampung Kuala Masai last March. The balance will be completed in stages by the end of this year, before being linked to the second phase which starts from end of the year until early next year,” she said at the programme's media conference here today.

Anita Azrina said the companies were optimistic the project would yield results in the near future as the first harvest is in September or October this year.

"Usually the maturity period for the mussels is between five and six months but since we installed three large traps in March last year, the harvest will certainly mature in September or October," she said.

Meanwhile, Southern Johor Fishermen's Association chairman Azli Mohd Aziz said the council would also monitor the project for its sustainability.

-- BERNAMA