PASIR PUTEH, May 23 — The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) of Kelantan has seized two Vietnamese fishing boats for encroaching and fishing in the national territorial waters, yesterday.
Kelantan MMEA director, Maritime Captain Muhd Nur Syam Asmawie Yaacob said 12 fishermen including their skippers, aged 22 to 53, were detained in the two boats, 65 and 67 nautical miles, respectively, from the Tok Bali estuary here from 5.40pm to 6.05pm.
“The first boat had 10 crew while the second boat was manned by two people.
“The two fishing boats were seized along with 1.3 tonnes of fish, 7,300 litres of diesel and fishing nets, all worth RM1.2 million,” he said in a statement here, today.
Muhd Nur Syam Asmawie said the two boats did not have permits to catch fish under the Fisheries Act 1985.
He said all the fishermen had also violated the Immigration Act 1959/63 for not have any valid identification documents.
“The case is being investigated under Section 15(1)(a) of the Fisheries Act 1985 for catching fish without the approval of the Malaysian Fisheries Department Director-General.
“The offence is punishable by fine of up to RM6 million against the skipper and RM600,000 on every crew if found guilty,” he said.
Muhd Nur Syam Asmawie also said that all the men detained had also undergone Covid-19 screening tests by the Ministry of Health and were confirmed negative. — Bernama
