Coast Guard seizes 3 Bangladeshi boats for fishing in Indian waters

Kolkata, Nov 17 (PTI) The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has seized three Bangladeshi fishing boats with 79 crew members, including three minors, for illegal fishing inside Indian waters, an official said on Monday.

During surveillance by ICG ships, the three Bangladeshi fishing boats were detected operating approximately two nautical miles inside Indian waters, in violation of the Maritime Zones of India (Regulation of Fishing by Foreign Vessels) Act, 1981 (MZI Act), he said.

ICG ships Amrit Kaur and Kamla Devi, during international maritime boundary line (IMBL) surveillance in north Bay of Bengal, seized the three Bangladeshi fishing boats for illegally fishing inside Indian waters and detained the 79 crew members, the official said.

The vessels were boarded and thoroughly searched by Coast Guard teams..

"The crew had no authorisation or permit to fish within India’s maritime zones. Their fishing gear and catch clearly established the violation," the official said.

All the boats, along with the crew members, were escorted to Frazerganj in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district and handed over to the marine police for legal proceedings, he said. PTI AMR MNB