Wong, who is agriculture minister in the current caretaker state Cabinet, said previous plans to table the Sabah Fisheries Enactment Bill last April were halted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing movement control order and also by the dissolution of the State Assembly.

“We never expected the MCO, we never expected the Dewan Undangan Negeri to be dissolved, so a lot of things have changed,” he said, adding that this has pushed back the schedule for tabling the bill.

The new enactment would introduce a number of measures, including a ban on trawler fishing and shark fishing. Coral extraction and the sale of lobster eggs would also be banned to help preserve Sabah’s marine ecosystem.

Aderick Chong, Sabah Shark Protection Association chairman, said the new law was “crucial” and “long awaited,” as it would empower the state government in protecting Sabah’s marine resources.

It would be a “historic change for our state”, he said.

The proposed law is part of a Sabah agriculture blueprint drawn up by the previous Warisan government to boost farming, fisheries and the livestock industry.