Another mainland fishing boat seized by Taiwan coast guard

TAIPEI, March 31 -- Taiwan's coast guard authority said it seized a mainland fishing boat and 10 crew on Friday for alleged "trespassing" following its detention of nine fishermen on Wednesday.

The latest boat and its crew, registered in Zhejiang Province, were caught fishing in "limited waters" off the Pengjia Islet Friday morning, and the 10 members are currently being held in New Taipei City to receive investigation, according to a statement released by the coast guard authority in Keelung City.

The boat left Zhejiang on March 17. Its owners may be given a fine ranging from 1.2 to 2.4 million new Taiwan dollars (NTD), according to the authority. The nine fishermen caught on Wednesday under the "trespassing" charge are still being held in Taiwan.

Aside from the two fishing boats seized this week, the Keelung coastal guard authority had previously seized four mainland fishing boats since the beginning of 2017 and fined them for a total of 6.6 million NTD.