FOREIGN FISHING VESSELS USE FAKE REGISTRATION TO ENTER M`SIAN WATERS

SANDAKAN (Sabah, Malaysia), Nov 27 (Bernama) -- Foreigners are fishing in
troubled waters, going by the unholy tactics deployed to increase their catch in
the Malaysian waters.

Initial investigations by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) have
revealed that unscrupulous foreigners have resorted to deception to fish in
local waters.

The MMEA discovered that foreign vessels duplicated the registration numbers and
colours of local fishing vessels to hoodwink the authorities into thinking they
were local vessels.

Those were the new tactics of operators of foreign fishing vessels which the
agency had recently uncovered, said MMEA director-general Mohd Amdan Kurish.

He said the tactics were aimed at confusing the Malaysian authorities to avoid
inspection.

"We are working hard to curb the problem of encroachment by foreign fishing
vessels as such activities could affect the daily catch of the local fishermen,"
he said when opening a community programme at Kampung Air here Saturday.

Mohd Amdan said that throughout MMEA's enforcement activities in Sabah waters
since early this year, 282 people were detained and 21 foreign fishing vessels
seized for encroaching into Malaysian waters.
-- BERNAMA