By Aida Aziz
Photo: Perak Maritime
LUMUT: A total of five foreign fishermen, including the skipper, were detained approximately 11 nautical miles west of Pulau Buloh at around 1:45 PM on Sunday.
Perak State Maritime Director, Captain Mohamad Shukri Khotob, said the Local Fishing Vessel (VNT) Class C was operated by a skipper along with four crew members, all from Myanmar, aged between 21 and 41 years.
“Perak Maritime detained a Local Fishing Vessel (VNT) Class C yesterday. The vessel was spotted by the KM Gagah operation team while conducting a patrol in the area,” he said here today.
“Further inspection revealed that the VNT violated the license conditions by fishing less than 15 nautical miles offshore and employing foreign fishermen without valid identification documents,” he said.
He added that the crew members showed no remorse for carrying out their work without proper identification.
As a result, the case is being investigated under the Fisheries Act 1985 for violating the license conditions and under the Immigration Act 1959/63 for staying in Malaysia without valid identification.
All the fishermen were detained, while the vessel, catch, and fishing equipment were seized and handed over to the Maritime Malaysia investigation officers for further action.
