MIRI: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained a foreign fishing boat at about 41 nautical miles off Kuala Miri waters for illegal fishing on Tuesday afternoon.
According to Miri MMEA Enforcement head Captain Mohd Fauzi Othman, the registered vessel was detected by the enforcement team upon receiving reports on the vessel’s presence earlier on.
He added that the boat with 16 Vietnamese crewmen aged between 16 and 46 including the skipper were arrested.
Preliminary investigations revealed that all of the crewmen did not possess any valid identification documents.
All of them were detained under the Fishery Act 1985 and Immigration Act 1959/63.
A total of 6,000 kg of marine products worth RM500,000 was also seized.
