THE captain of a Vietnamese fishing boat has been fined $10,000 and his eight crew members $750 each after they were convicted yesterday for fishing illegally in Brunei waters.

The vessel's captain Le Van Han, 39, told the court that he was not aware of the maritime boundaries and did not intend to infringe any law by fishing in Brunei territory. If he cannot pay the fine he must serve a default prison term of one year.

The crew members Vo Dui Rin, 22; Trang Nhu Hoai, 17; Vo Hoi, 42; Vo Thanh That, 32; Tran Van Dung, 39; Vo Cao Nam, 17; Truong An Dung, 43; Nguyen Van Phu, 34 were also ordered to pay the fine immediately or be jailed for a month.

The fishing vessel and $607 which were proceeds from the sale of fish are to be forfeited to the state.

The defendants were detained by the Royal Brunei Navy on January 20 when their boat was spotted 60 nautical miles of the coast of Brunei.

Authorities conducted a search on board where they a Global Positioning System, radio system and catch believed to be ocean tuna.

They were handed over to Marine Police the following day and have been in custody at the Bandar Seri Begawan Police station since their arrest.

Cases of foreign fishermen encroaching Brunei's 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) are not uncommon as many have been arrested by local authorities and brought to the court.

Experts have estimated that Brunei has lost about $13 million in fisheries resources over the last decade as a result of illegal fishing.

If found guilty of illegal fishing, the owner and master of a ship may face a fine of up to $100,000 and a maximum prison term of five years, or both. Meanwhile, each member of the crew can be fined up to $2,500 and jailed for up to a year both.

The Fisheries Order states that no foreign vessel can be used for conducting any research or survey in Brunei Darussalam unless it is authorised to do so under any international fishery agreement . Quratul-Ain BandialThe Brunei Times