Goh Pei Pei New Straits Times 7 Aug 17;
KUCHING: Region 5 marine police seized a fishing boat and arrested its four crew members yesterday after they were caught trawling in a prohibited area, 0.5 nautical miles off Kuala Belawai, Sarikei.
Region 5 commander Assistant Commissioner Salehuddin Mat Zaman said a patrol unit spotted the boat, which was less than five kilometres from the shore, at about 6am.
“They are not supposed to use such a method in the area, which is very close to the shore.
"Hence, our team seized the boat and four locals, including the skipper. We escorted them back to Tanjung Manis for further investigation,” he said in a statement here today.
The boat, trawlers and 100kg of catch worth an estimated RM175,500 were seized.
"We believe the fishes were caught using the (trawler) method, and were confiscated,” he said.
The case is being investigated under Section 8 (b) of the Fisheries Act 1985.
18 Vietnamese detained for illegal fishing in Malaysian waters
ZAZALI MUSA The Star 8 Aug 17;
KOTA TINGGI: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has detained 18 Vietnamese fishermen on board two locally-registered vessels, for alleged illegal fishing activities.
The fishermen, aged between 18 and 56 years old, were detained for using pukat tunda gading (which are illegal trawling nets) about 43 nautical miles off Kuala Tanjung Sedili near here on Aug 7.
The MMEA had detained the first boat at around 6.57am and the second boat about 40 minutes later on that day.
"One of the vessels tried to escape when the fishermen saw our men approaching, but we managed to intercept it," said Tanjung Sedeli MMEA director Capt Amran Daud.
He said initial investigations indicate the fishermen had used the illegal trawling nets less than 12 nautical miles off Pulau Aur, while three of the fishermen did not have work permits.
Capt Amran said the MMEA also found about 4,000kg of fish on the two fishing vessels, which were towed to the Tanjung Sedeli Maritime Jetty.
The case is being investigated under the Fisheries Act 1985.
