100kg of bombed fish seized off Pulau Gaya
Published on: Thursday, September 03, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: Yet another fish-bombing activity has been detected by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), this time involving 100kg of suspected bombed fish off Gaya Island here on Tuesday. District Maritime Enforcement Chief, Zin Azman Md Yunus, said the seizure came following the detection of a boat moving in a suspicious manner in the open sea and headingtowards the waters here at about 6.40pm.He said a chase which lasted for about 10 minutes ensued when the boat suddenly sped towards the waters off Gaya Island as the MMEA enforcement team approached it for inspection.
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"Our team managed to catch up with the boat after it capsized at the shallow waters. However, those on the boat managed to flee into the forest area on the island," he said in a statement Wednesday. He said inspections on the boat led to the discovery of 100kg of various fish, two pump engines, one compressor and diving equipment, adding that further inspections showed signs of suspected fish-bombing activities. "The case is being investigated under Section 26(1)(c) of the Fisheries Act 1985 and also under the Ports and Harbours (Sabah Licensed Small Ships) Regulations after the boat was found without a registration number and was not built according to designated specifications. He said the boat has been brought to the MMEA Sepanggar Bay jetty for further investigation.
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According to Zin Azman, this was the third seizure in the past weeks, adding that they will continue to trace those involved in fish-bombing activities as such activity would only damage the sea ecosystem and habitat. Last month, several cases of suspected fish bombing were detected by enforcement. Among them involved the seizure of a total of 710kg of suspected bombed fish at Pulau Gaya off Semporna during an operation conducted by the marinepolice.
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Two Bajau men, aged 20 and 25, were arrested and explosives believed to be used for fish bombing were seized in the operation. A total of 70kg of suspected bombed fish were also seized in two separate raids off the Singgahmata waters in Semporna. Fish bombing activities were alsodetected in Kota Belud earlier in August, resulting in the arrests of three men. It was also reported that encroachment by fishing boats into the gazetted 500-metre safety radius within the Petronas' off-shore oil platforms in the country has reached alarming levels, especially in the State. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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