Tawau: Three Indonesian fishermen were detained by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) for illegal trawling at Cowie Bay, a prohibited area for fishing, on Monday, which was the first such case this year.District Maritime Director, Captain Anor Jaafar said the suspects aged between 19 and 41 were spotted during MMEA's 'Ops Pluto Timur' from the Bombalai to Kalabakan waters.He said they found the trawler, bearing a local registration number.
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"Our personnel inspected the trawler and found the fishermen did not have any permit to fish at Cowie Bay as well as no permits to hire Indonesian workers."The trawler was also found fishing at an area which is less than two nautical miles from the beach in a shallow area with a depth of less than nine meters.
"Considering that this is a first case at Cowie Bay this year, we will increase the number of enforcement personnel and collaborate with the Fisheries Department to tackle the illegal fishing activity in the area," Anor said.
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