KUCHING: Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Sarawak Region, through its Tanjung Manis Maritime Zone team, have detained a foreign fishing boat with three Vietnamese on board for encroaching into Sarawak waters and carrying out unauthorised fishing activity.
State MMEA director First Admiral Maritime Robert Teh Geok Chuan said in a statement today that the trio was arrested during a special operation at 6.40 pm on Thursday (July 9) about 56 nautical miles north off Tanjung Sirik near Tanjung Manis.
He said that upon further inspection of the boat, they found about 100kg of various types of fish while the skipper and his two crew members failed to produce any valid identification documents.
“Based on the freshness of their catch, it is believed that the boat had just entered the country’s waters,” he said.
He added that the fishing boat, the catch and fishing equipment, all estimated to be worth RM1 million, were seized while the skipper and two crew members, aged between 33 and 42, were taken to the Tanjung Manis Passenger Terminal Jetty to undergo Covid-19 screening by Health Ministry staff.
He said the three Vietnamese have been detained by MMEA for investigation under the Fisheries Act 1985 for not having a permit to carry out fishing activities in the country’s waters and the Immigration Act 1959/63 for not possessing any valid travelling documents. – Bernama
