The Coast Guard has been placed on high alert following the increasing presence of Myanmarese fishermen in north Andaman sea and surrounding areas.
In the past four days, Coast Guard ship Aruna Asaf Ali apprehended five boats and 60 poachers. Officials said more Myanmarese were venturing into the area, which was close to Coco Islands (about 26 miles) and the sea was rich in sea cucumber, molluscs and corals. As many as 88 poachers and seven boats were apprehended in the last three weeks.In the latest incident on the night of September 22, the Coast Guard ship apprehended two boats and 24 poachers. With this, the total number of poachers picked up by the boat in the north Andaman sea region alone had crossed 50.
In the latest incident, the ship noticed two boats separated by over 5 miles approaching from Coco Islands. The Coast Guard ship managed to secure one boat. Noticing this, the other boat, taking advantage of darkness, increased its speed. The Coast Guard ship fired warning shots. After a short chase, the poachers gave up.
