In Malaysia, the Fishermen's Associations are registered under the Fishermen's Association Act 1971, Act 44, which was enacted with the principal objective of promoting the socio-economic interests and well-being of the fishermen. There is presently a three-tier structure comprising 61 Area Fishermen's Associations (PN), 11 State Fishermen's Associations and one National Fishermen's Association. Total membership at the end of June 1987 stood at 46,650 fishermen.
There are also 40 Fishermen Cooperative Societies (SKN)3, with 14,300 members registered under the Cooperative Societies Act 1948 (Act 287). Government policy is directed toward amalgamation of the PN and SKN. The Fishermen's Association Act has, in fact, decreed that no new Fishermen's Cooperative Society would be established.
The PNs are an important feature of LKIM's development programmes in that they are expected to assume many of the functions related to marketing, input supply, boat maintenance and repair, fish processing, aquaculture, credit, education and training, and social activities.
The District of Tumpat is situated in the northeastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia in the state of Kalantan which is bordered on the north by Thailand across the Golok River. The district extends over 38km southeastward from the border along the coast to the Kalantan River which separate the district from the district of Kota Bharu and has a total population of approximately 80,000 including 1,844 registered fishermen.
There were 640 fishing boats registered in the district in 1985, of which 513 were inboard powered including 56 trawlers, 264 drift-netters and 164 hand-liners.
There were two fishermen's cooperative societies in the Tumpat District, namely the Tumpat Fishermen's Cooperative Society and the Sungai Pinang Fishermen's Cooperative Society. Both were established in 1961 or thereabout and registered under the Cooperative Societies Ordinance 1948.
The Tumpat Area Fisshermen's Association was established and registered under the Fishermen's Associations Act in 1973, two years after the enactment of the Act.
In 1975, both Fishermen's Cooperative Societies and Fishermen's Associations came under the jurisdiction of the Registrar of Fishermen's Associations to whom the Deputy Chairman of LKIM was appointed under the Section 6(3) of the Act.
In this regard, both the fishermen's cooperative societies in Tumpat District i.e. Tumpat Fishermen's Cooperative Society and Sungai Pinang Fishermen's Cooperative Society, were voluntarily liquidated and merged with the Tumpat Area Fishermen's Association based on the resolution adopted at their emergency general meetings in 1977 and 1978 respectively. Consequently, all members of these societies automatically became members of the PN except those who were not eligible for admission to the PN under the provisions provided for in Section 11 of the Fishermen's Associations Act.
