KOTA BHARU: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) of Kelantan detained a Class C fishing boat and a recreational fishing fibreglass boat in the waters of Tok Bali in two separate incidents on May 9 and May 16 respectively.
Its director, Capt Erwan Shah Soahdi the MMEA detained the two boats while conducting patrols under Op Dama, Op Naga Bara and Op Tiris in the waters around Kelantan.
He said action was taken after both the boats were suspected to have violated the licence regulations, which is carrying out fishing activities at a distance of less than 12 nautical miles from the beach.
“The first detention was at 10.40 pm on May 9, involving a local fishing boat manned by seven Vietnamese crew members aged between 24 and 49 about 10.2 nautical miles from Pantai Senok, Bachok,” he said in a statement today.
Meanwhile, the second detention was done at 11 pm on May 16, involving a boat handled by a tekong and six passengers aged between 31 and 43 about 24.1 nautical miles from the Tok Bali estuary for failing to produce a valid boat licence and insurance.