THIRTY fishermen believed to be from Vietnam have been apprehended off Cairns for suspected illegal fishing activities.

An Australian Border Force spotted two boats out near Lihou Reef on Thursday, about 600km east of the city.

They searched the vessels and found around six tonnes of bêche-de-mer (sea cucumber) suspected to have been caught illegally.

An ABF spokesman said they also located enough diving gear to support more than 10 divers in the water at once.

The men were transported on the HMAS Wollongong this morning and are expected to be transferred to a detention centre in Darwin.

The vessels are currently being towed back to shore.

Read the full story in tomorrow’s Cairns Post.