Nigerian Navy says it has arrested 26 crew and confiscated two fishing trawlers belonging to a Nigerian Company, (ORC fishing and food processing Limited) for illegal fishing activities.
Operation Commander, Operation FORMOSO, Captain Suleiman Ibrahim, said his men also arrested four foreigners for illegal fishing activities within the restricted distance of 5 nautical miles off the Nigerian coastline.
He named the confiscated vessels as ORC 5 and CYNTHIA.
The Navy handed over the vessels, and their contents, with all 26 crew to the Federal Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Commanding Base Officer, FORMOSO, in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa.
Ibrahim said the Navy detected the illegal activities of the vessels with the use of maritime domain awareness equipment trawling within the 5 nautical miles restricted zones, adding that they thereafter deployed its operatives to intercept them.
He noted that the area was designated for the use of local fishermen and not bigger vessels with monitoring to avoid conflicts.
