The crew of 22 Thais and one Cambodian were detained and 500,000 kilograms of fish and other marine life seized. However, officials found that the boat only had a fishing permit from Puntland and also violated the catch limit of 270,000kg of fish, Jaruwat said. After Thai officials filed an inquiry, Somali authorities replied that the country had not authorised the boat to fish in its own waters and it was not registered in its system. The boat was not equipped with the vessel-monitoring system that was legally required, Jaruwat added. Police proceeded with legal action on charges of bringing an illegal fishing vessel into the Thailand’s waters without permission, which is punishable by a fine between Bt1 million and Bt30 million.

Source: The Nation Bangkok February 08, 2018 07:49 UTC