TEHRAN – Rahim Jahanbakhsh, the coastguard commander for Iran’s southern Kish Island, said on Saturday that Iran has seized a trespassing fishing boat in the Persian Gulf and detained its seven crew members.

Jahanbakhsh said the boat belonged to an Arab state of the Persian Gulf.

The vessel’s crew members were fishing rare and endangered species, particularly blacktip and whitetip sharks, he remarked.

He added that Kish maritime forces have seized seven trespassing boats and arrested some 50 crew members since March.

MH/PA