Johor MMEA Detains Two Vietnamese Boats For Illegal Fishing In Pulau Aur

JOHOR BAHARU (Johor, Malaysia), March 6 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained two Vietnamese boats in Pulau Aur waters, Mersing, Thursday morning. Tanjung Sedili district MMEA enforcement chief Kapt Amran Daud said the two boats were spotted at 9am, some 3.1 nautical miles off the west of Pulau Aur while the MMEA team was patrolling near the location. "Initial checks on board the vessel found that it did not have any documentation to be in Malaysian waters. Some 2,000 kilogrammes of fish believed to be caught in Malaysian waters using a banned net were seized. "The boats had 27 crew members aged between 21 and 49. All of the boat's crew were brought to Tanjung Sedili MMEA headquarters for questioning," he said in a statement, here, Friday. He said the case was being investigated under Section 15(1)(a) of the Fisheries Act 1985. Under this section, no foreign fishing boats are allowed to carry out activities in Malaysian waters. Under the act, the captain of the fishing boat could be fined not exceeding US$274,289 (RM1 million) and each of the crew members not more than US$27,428 (RM100,000). Amran said this was the first case of nabbing illegal fishermen in Johor waters by Tanjung Sedili MMEA this year in an effort to eliminate illegal fishing in Malaysian waters. -- BERNAMA