MIRI: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) here seized a total of 315 spotted live sharks from a cargo vessel which was found fishing illegally here on Tuesday. Mi r i MMEA commander, Captain Mohd Fauzi said, the enforcement team also seized about 2,000 kilogrammes of fish worth RM20,000 and detained five Vietnamese crew members and captain aged between 19 and 62.
He disclosed, the enforcement team was conducting operation ‘Ops Permai’ and detected two suspicious vessels anchoring about 60 nautical miles off Miri. “At 5.45pm on Tuesday the patrol vessel had detected two fishing boats at a distance of about two nautical miles in suspicious circumstances. “At 6.05pm on the same day, the patrol vessels were able to reach a fishing boat believed to be resting at a distance of about 60 nautical miles from the Miri River,” he said.
Both vessels bearing registration numbers SF3-2135 and VIVI 1/QMY 8892 were believed to be having a break at sea when they were spotted by the authorities, he said. According to him a vessel with bearing number VIVI1/ QMY 8892 did not possess a valid licence for fishing and was reportedly travelling from Bintulu, Malaysia to Long Xuyen, Vietnam.
