20 Vietnamese caught fishing illegally in 2 boats off Mersing

 

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency officers with one of the boats seized from Vietnamese fishermen. (MMEA Facebook pic)

MERSING: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) arrested 20 Vietnamese fishermen for encroaching into the country’s waters today.

Mersing maritime zone director Khairul Nizam Misran said two boats and fishing equipment, estimated to be worth RM3 million, were seized during an operation dubbed Op Khas Pagar Laut, eight nautical miles northeast of Pulau Pemanggil at 12.30am.

He said 9,000kg of various types of catch and 11,500 litres of diesel were also confiscated.

“All of them, aged between 16 and 52, including the boat skippers, who failed to produce valid identification documents, were taken to the Malaysian maritime jetty at Teluk Gading Post for further investigation,” he said in a statement today.

Khairul said the case was being investigated under the Fisheries Act 1985 for trespassing and fishing in Malaysian waters without the approval of the Malaysian Fisheries Department director-general and the Immigration Act 1959/63 for failing to produce valid identification documents. - FMT