Encroachment by foreign vessels minimal – MMEA

KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) acknowledged there are incidents of encroachment into Sabah waters by foreign fishing vessels, but the number is minimal.

MMEA Regional Maritime Director Sabah and Labuan Maritime Rear Admiral Mohd Zubil Mat Som told a press conference yesterday that in 2016, MMEA checked a total of 6,715 boats and only eight were non-Malaysians while this year they had checked 3,959 vessels out of which only five were foreign boats.

“MMEA also detained 150 local fishing vessels including Malaysian-owned Vietnamese vessels in 2016 and 2017 for various offences, including not adhering to the fishing methods as stated in their licences.

“So there are not many foreign vessels encroaching into Malaysian waters and the confusion arises from the fact that there are many Vietnamese vessels which were bought by local companies and registered here. They are made in Vietnam and the crew are all Vietnamese.

“These are the vessels people claim are foreign fishing vessels. MMEA frequently gets reports of foreign vessels encroaching in our waters and when we go and check, we find out that they are these Vietnam boats that are owned by local companies and operating legally,” he said.

Mohd Zubil said according to the Malaysia Fisheries Department, as of 2016, there were 31 Vietnamese-made vessels owned by 13 companies in Sabah operating in the state.

He said action would be taken on any foreign fishing vessels found encroaching and fishing in Sabah waters.

They can be charged under Section 15(1) (A) and Section 16 (3) of the Fisheries Act 1985 and if found guilty, the captain can be fined up to RM1 million and the crew RM100,000 each. The vessel will also be confiscated.

He added that MMEA had also found many that did not adhere to the conditions stipulated in their licences.

“For instance in one of our cases, the vessel was licensed to only fish using long lines but we found fishing nets on aboard. This is already in violation of its licence. Then there are those with expired licences and those involved in trawling outside the permitted area as well as those registered as cargo boats but found involved in fishing activities.

“MMEA does not reject the possibility that local owned Vietnamese boats are also involved in ‘paired trawling’ but we have difficulties in proving this theory due to lack of evidence,” he lamented.

He is also worried as the enforcement of these vessels cannot be done by MMEA alone and needs a holistic approach to ensure that they abide by the law.

“If the issue is not resolved, I am worried that it will become worse. Even now we are not clear on where the catch of these vessels are landed, where do they refuel and restock their sundries. Do they get checked when alongside?” he questioned.

Any delay in addressing the matter could produce room and opportunity for rampant abuse of the licences issued to the local-owned Vietnamese boats, he stressed.

He also brought to attention the recent seizure of two boats off Pulau Mengalum by MMEA where the boats were found to have used forged fishing permits as the registration number on the vessels and the licences did not tally.

“The boats from Vietnam have the numbers SBF30 and SBF31 written on the sides but their licences showed that they were issued to SBF28 and SBF29. This is a case of falsification,” he said.

MMEA does not reject the possibility that there are individuals with vested interest who are using the loopholes in the law to help foreign vessels conduct their activity in Sabah.

“Otherwise how would the Vietnamese vessels know what registration number to use?” he asked.

“I urged the maritime community to work together with MMEA to address this problem. Should any of you come across any illegal fishing activities, please relay the information to us. If possible take photographs and even a video recording of what they are doing and email to MMEA at [email protected].

“With strong evidence we can take action against the perpetrators,” he said.