KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia loses up to RM6 billion due to illegal fishing every year, according to Director of Landing and Licensing Division in the Department of Fisheries Malaysia (DOF), Wan Muhammad Aznan Abdullah.

He said despite tough enforcement measures in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, the issue on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing remains rampant since the return on investment is lucrative and also because the vast area makes policing extremely difficult without cooperation from Asean members.