By Nancy Lai
More Vietnam fishing vessels encroaching into Malaysian waters
KOTA KINABALU: Vietnamese fishing vessels are encroaching into Malaysian waters to hunt and catch the highly prized tuna as well as other marine life.
This was highlighted by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) which has caught two Vietnamese fishing vessels fishing illegally in Malaysian waters within a week and found a total of about 1.7 tonnes of tuna on board.
Both vessels were caught during MMEA’s Op Pagar Laut which was launched last week, said KM Arau’s Commanding Officer Maritime Captain Mohd Zawawi Abdullah here yesterday.
The latest arrest was made 78 nautical miles off Pulau Balambangan Kudat at about 9.30 am on Sunday by MMEA’s KM Arau patrolling the area, he said, adding that the first vessel was caught on June 14.
“After stopping the vessel and checking the crew on board, we found that the five men, including the captain, were fishing illegally in Malaysian waters. We also found 450 kg of fish, mostly tuna and other species on board,” he said.
But these foreign fishing boats are just a minor component of the problem as the main culprit is the mothership that collects the marine life caught and supplies the vessels with logistics like food, water and fuel.
These fishing vessels are usually out catching fish for two to three months at a time and would ‘report’ to the mothership which collects the marine life caught and helps the fishermen to restock their food, water and fuel supply, Zawawi said.
“Our target is the mothership but it has been very hard to catch them as they are usually operating just beyond the Malaysian sea border and in this case, on the Philippine side,” Zawawi said.
He added that in the past MMEA had caught many Indonesian and Philippines registered fishing vessels fishing illegally in Malaysian waters but noticed that the encroachment of Vietnamese registered vessels was on the rise with two caught within a week.
Zawawi disclosed that the captain and crew aged between 24 and 53 years old as well as the fishing boat and catch would be referred to the Fisheries Department for further action.
The case will be investigated under Section 15(1)(a) of the Fisheries Act 1985 and if found guilty under Section 25(a) of the same Act, the captain can be fined a maximum of RM1 million and RM100,000 per crew member, he said.
Zawawi expressed MMEA’s gratitude to local fishermen who reported the presence of foreign vessels in Malaysian waters and hope that the assistance from the angling community will continue.
Meanwhile MMEA Sabah and Labuan FT Maritime Director Rear Admiral Datuk Mohd Zubil Mat Som stressed that there will be no compromise for any quarters, especially foreign fishermen who encroach into Malaysian waters and steal our marine life.