Two Vietnamese fishing boats, 19 crew members held for poaching

PASIR PUTEH (Bernama): The Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained two Vietnamese fishing boats and 19 crew members on Tuesday (March 23) for poaching in Malaysian waters in separate incidents.

MMEA Kelantan director Capt (Maritime) Muhd Nur Syam Asmawie Yaacob said the boats were detained at 58 and 78 nautical miles, respectively, off Muara Tok Bali at 10.23am and 12.19pm during the Op Kuda Laut operation in the waters off Kelantan.

Besides the boats, the MMEA also seized 1.2 tonnes of fish of various species, 21,000 litres of diesel and fishing gear, all estimated to be worth RM2.5mil, he told a press conference at the MMEA Kelantan Tok Bali headquarters here.

He said Section 15(1)(a) of the Fisheries Act 1985 provides for the skipper of a fishing boat to be fined a maximum of RM6mil and each crew to be fined up to RM600,000 for poaching.

The 19 crew members, aged between 16 and 60, will also be charged under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/1963 which provides for a fine of RM10,000 or a jail term as well as six strokes of the cane for failing to produce a valid travel document, he said.

Muhd Nur Syam said the MMEA will continue to cooperate with local fishermen to obtain information on poaching by foreign fishermen. He also said that many foreign fishing vessels were roaming in the international waters, waiting for an opportune time to enter Malaysian waters to poach.- Bernama