LABUAN: The district Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) here has seized a local fishing boat for fishing about three nautical miles from the shore near Tanjung Nosong of Kuala Penyu waters this morning.
Six Indonesian crewmembers including a skipper aged between 20 to 45 years old were detained on board, according to Labuan maritime director Captain Che Adnan Md Isa.
“KM Bistari patrol vessel initially approached the trawler for suspicious activity around 5.55am, where various fish estimated around 500 kilogrammes was found on the boat.
“The boat was seized for breaking regulation under Section 8 (b) of Fisheries Act 1985 which is fishing less than six nautical miles from the beach.
“The boat and the crew members have been brought to MMEA Labuan jetty for further investigation,” he said in a statement here.
Che Adnan reminded that all fishing boat operators must abide by the rules under their licence, and fishing using dragnet in areas close to the beach could affect the fish reproduction ecosystem there.