KUALA TERENGGANU: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) arrested seven Vietnamese fishermen for conducting illegal fishing activities in Malaysian waters last Saturday (Jan 14).
Terengganu MMEA director Maritime Captain Mohd Khairulanuar Abd Majid said they were detained around 135 nautical miles north-east of Kuala Terengganu at 9am on Jan 14 under operations codenamed Op Naga Barat and Op Kuda Laut.
"MMEA patrolling teams detected a suspicious boat engaged in fishing activities and it attempted to sail away. The teams managed to intercept the boat, which had a foreign registration number.
"Upon checking, the skipper failed to produce valid licence documents,” he said in a statement Monday (Jan 15).
Mohd Khairulanuar said all the crewmen, including the skipper, aged between 21 and 54 years old, also did not posses valid identification documents and foreign worker permits.
He added that the boat, fishing equipment, 150kg of marine catch and 100l of diesel worth RM1mil were seized, and the crewmen were handed over to Terengganu Maritime for further action.
The case is being investigated under the Fisheries Act 1985 and Immigration Act 1959/63. - Bernama
