LANGKAWI, Jan 24 — ‘If I go out too far, there is no phone connection, I will miss my wife,” – was one of the reasons given by trawler boat fishermen detained for catching fish at between 8.8 and 8.9 nautical miles west of Tanjung Belua near here yesterday.
Director of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Kedah and Perlis, First Admiral Rozali Mohd Said said earlier, his staff detected two C class local fishing boats with two skippers and eight crew catching fish in the area at between 7.25 and 7.50pm.
He said investigations found the boats which were manned by Thai skippers and crew aged between 21 and 61, had committed an offence under Section 8(b) of the Fisheries Act 1985 for violating the conditions of the licence, catching fish less than 15 nautical miles and not possessing vessel detection equipment.
“Both boats with their estimated 1.3 tonnes of fishing catch were detained and taken to the Bukit Malut Maritime Jetty for further investigations and action. The results of the investigations will be forwarded to the Fisheries Department,” he said in a press conference here today.
Rozali said the activities of trawler boats which catch fish outside the permitted zones were serious offences as it affected the catch of coastal fishermen.
“Throughout January, Malaysian Maritime made nine arrests involving encroachments by trawler boats into coastal areas,” he said.
He also urged the maritime community to cooperate by providing information relating to activities which contravened the law.
“Report any criminal activity and emergencies at sea to the MERS 999 line and Kedah and Perlis Maritime Operations Centre at telephone number 04-966 2750,” he said. — Bernama
