KUCHING: State Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has detained a local fishing boat for allegedly fishing in waters about 22 nautical miles from Tanjong Sipang here.
Its state director First Admiral Maritime Robert Teh Geok Chuan said the agency received a public tip-off claiming that a boat was fishing in areas prohibited for C Class vessel about 1.30pm
Acting on the tip-off, the agency’s patrol team immediately combed the area and spotted the offending boat.
“They discovered that the skipper of the Class 2 boat had breached the conditions of his licence. The boat is allowed to fish only in waters 30 nautical miles and beyond from shore.
“Further inspection found that the skipper and seven crew members are Thais while one crew member is a Cambodian. Two of the crew members were not listed in the boat’s manifest,” Teh disclosed.
The case will be investigated under Section 8(b) of the Fisheries Act, 1985 for allegedly breaching conditions stated in the licence.
Teh said the boat, its skipper and crew members had been brought to Kompleks Tun Abang Salahuddin (Komtas) jetty for further action.
On a separate development, Teh said the agency would beef up patrol to ensure that fishing boats in state waters were in strict compliance with the state maritime laws.
He appealed to members of the public to alert them on any suspicious activity in the state waters by calling the agency’s 24-hour call line at 082-432544 or MERS 999.
