TAWAU: The Tawau Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) arrested 10 fishermen and detained three boats in three separate locations on Tuesday for fishing less than two nautical miles from the mainland.
Tawau Maritime Zone Director, Maritime Captain Shahrizan Raman, said the first arrest involved a fishing boat about 1.5 nautical miles southwest of Merotai.
“The activity of the boat was successfully detected by the patrol boat.
“Inspection found that three Indonesian men aged between 29 and 39 were on the boat,” he said.
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He said inspections revealed seven male crew members, holding Indonesian passports aged between 29 and 58 who were suspected of carrying out fishing activities less than two nautical miles from the mainland.
Shahrizan said the three skippers, along with the boat and marine cargo, were arrested and transported to the Tawau Maritime Jetty.
“They were then handed over to the Tawau Maritime Zone for further investigation,” he said.
The case is being investigated under the Fisheries Act 1985 for conducting fishing activities less than two nautical miles from the mainland.
He said all items, including fishing boats, nets and loads of seafood were seized, all valued at almost RM300,000.
Shahrizan said his party would continue to pay attention to cases involving local fishermen who violate the conditions of their licences by pulling nets beyond the two nautical miles.
He emphasised the importance of cooperation from fishing boat operators and the maritime community in adhering to the fishing regulations.
Shahrizan said the public was encouraged to assist Maritime Malaysia by reporting any information related to crimes or suspicious activities at sea to the Tawau Maritime Zone Operations Centre at 089-750116 or MERS 999.
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