BINTULU: Two local fishing boats of Class C and C2 were detained at two different locations on suspicion of violating the legal conditions of their licences last Tuesday.
Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Sarawak director First Maritime Admiral Zin Azman Md Yunus said the first arrest involved a Class C fishing vessel. It took place at 11.07am at about 8.5 nautical miles off the coast of Bintulu waters.
The vessel was suspected of fishing by towing outside the permitted zone close to the coastal area in Bintulu waters.
“Our enforcement personnel inspected and detained seven male crew members comprising five locals and two Indonesians, aged between 15 and 59 years old.
“The crew, fishing gear and fishing vessel and live catch weighing about 100kg, were escorted to the Bintulu Maritime Zone Vessel Detention Centre for further investigation,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a Miri Maritime Zone asset made the second arrest involving a Class C2 fishing vessel which took place at 4.20pm at about 25.7 nautical miles off Tanjung Batu.
Zin added that the team conducted inspections and found that the vessel was fishing less than 30 nautical miles and had violated the conditions stated in the licence.
“The team detained five Indonesian male crew members including the skipper, aged between 23 and 42, aboard the vessel.
“The crew, fishing gear, fishing vessel as well as the various catch of 300kg, were escorted to the Miri Maritime Zone PTV Jetty for further investigation,” he told.
Both cases will be investigated under Section 8 (b) of the Fisheries Act 1985 for violating the legal conditions of the licence.
