Coastguards of southern Hormuzgan province have seized four trawlers and arrested eight foreign nationals on board at Bandar Abbas territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, provincial Judiciary official Ali Salehi said on Thursday.
Ali Salehi said that the vessels were involved in illegal fishing.
Salehi said the arrested people have been handed over to the Judiciary for investigation and adjudication.
He added that 40 tons of fish with a rough value of 60 billion rials ($375,000) was found on the trawlers.
In early September 2019, seven trawlers were detained by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) because of fishing violations.
Iran has launched maritime patrol to keep a tab on fishing trawlers in the Persian Gulf in a bid to prevent such bulk fishing which damages the local people’s source of income.
It closely monitors all movements in its territorial waters, particularly in the Persian Gulf, to protect marine life and at the same time ensure the security of the country’s marine borders. Under Iran’s law, fishing for rare marine creatures carries hefty cash fines.
A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers.