A recent article in Channel NewsAsia reported that fish farmers in the North do not have proper facilities to unload their catch to the mainland.
Fish farmers who illegally load or unload their stocks by beaching their boats at Pasir Ris Beach Park have been fined. They have been asking for proper facilities for two years.
Climbing a ladder up to Changi Jetty is the only way for fish farmers in the eastern waters of Singapore to legally load and unload supplies and fish stocks that can sometimes weigh hundreds of kilograms. And the Manpower Ministry's Workplace Safety and Health has deemed this practice to be dangerous. This location is also double the distance from Pasir Ris Beach Park.
At the same time, according to media reports in March 2011 AVA is setting targets for the 95 coastal fish farms to yield a minimum of 17 tonnes of fish per half-hectare of space annually. That space is the average size of a fish farm here. Their licences may not be renewed if targets are not met within two or three years.