SANDAKAN: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency detained two local fishing vessels during an enforcement operation in Sandakan waters on Wednesday.
Sandakan Maritime Zone director Maritime Captain Muhamad Suhairy Hussain said the first vessel was stopped at 12.39am about 1.79 nautical miles from shore for trawling activities.
The vessel was operated by four Indonesian fishermen aged between 25 and 52.
A second vessel was detained at 12.46am at a nearby location for the same offence, involving three fishermen aged between 24 and 36, comprising one local, one Indonesian and one Filipino.
Both vessels were found to have breached licence conditions under Section 8(b) of the Fisheries Act 1985 for trawling within 12 nautical miles from the coast, and were brought with seven crew members and about three tonnes of catch worth an estimated RM312,000 to the Sandakan Maritime Zone jetty for further investigation.