MMEA stumbles on offshore fish transfer by Vietnamese fishermen

KUALA TERENGGANU: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) stumbled on a fish transfer racket involving 14 Vietnamese fishermen about 35 nautical miles northeast of Pulau Tioman in Pahang yesterday.
The MMEA detained the foreigners, aged between 20 and 48 and seized their boat in the incident about 7.30pm.
Earlier, the agency's patrol team spotted a suspicious-looking boat intruding into Malaysian waters before uncovering its activities.
MMEA (Eastern Region) deputy director (operations) Maritime Captain V. Pannir Selvan said the boat did not have the permit to conduct fishing or enter Malaysian waters.
He said it was a primary boat that had been waiting to collect fish and prawns from other boats in the middle of the sea before taking (the catches) to their home country," he said here today.
He added the suspects, including a boat skipper, were taken to the Kemaman MMEA Maritime Base to facilitate investigations under the Fisheries Act 1985 and Immigration Act 1959. — Bernama