79 fishing boats, 700 foreign crewmen detained last year, Senate told

Shamsul Anuar delivers his reply in the Dewan Negara. – Bernama photo

KUCHING (April 4): A total of 79 foreign fishing boats along with 700 foreign fishermen were detained last year for encroaching in Malaysian waters, said Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah.

He said this in a written reply to Senator Dato Ahmad Ibrahim in the Dewan Negara yesterday, citing Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) statistics.

Adding on, Shamsul Anuar said a total of 25 foreign fishing boats were detained by MMEA during an operation conducted in Sarawak territorial waters and other states in Malaysia between January and February last year.

The operation, dubbed ‘Op Mardof’, took place between Jan 15 to Feb 25 in Bintulu, Labuan, Perak and Pahang.

“Op Mardof was conducted by MMEA in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries (DoF). During the operation, a total of 277 land and sea inspections were conducted. As a result, 25 foreign fishing boats were detained including one from Vietnam,” he said.

Shamsul Anuar added that cooperation among government agencies in enforcing the country’s maritime legislation can be seen through the implementation of several operations such as Op Naga, involving MMEA, armed forces, police, Customs Department, Immigration Department and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

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