Three men including an Indonesian were detained last night for illegal fishing activities and fish bombing in Kuala Niah.
MIRI (June 2): The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) here has detained three individuals for suspected illegal fish bombing last night.
One of the suspects is an Indonesian, and the agency also seized 900 kilograms of fish in their posession.
In a statement here today, MMEA Miri director Captain Md Fauzi Othman said the fishing boat was first detected at around 20 nautical miles west of Kuala Niah at around 8.30pm.
“The boat was looking suspicious as it was moving in the dark, thus it was suspected to have carried out illegal fishing activities in the area.
“Upon checking, the suspects were found to be using fish traps ‘bubu’ which were not licensed and fish bombs,” said Md Fauzi.
The three suspects, including an Indonesian, however were found to be with documents.
“The crews, boat and around 900 kilogrammes of various types of fishes were seized and taken to Kampung Pulau Melayu vessel detention centre for further investigation,” said Md Fauzi.
He added that the case would be investigated under the Fisheries Act 1985.
On another note, Md Fauzi appealed to members of the public to provide information to the authorities if they come across suspicious activities in the sea by contacting MMEA Miri operation room at 085-418204 or MERS 999 which operates 24/7.