JAKARTA, October 9 (RIA Novosti) - Malaysian authorities plan to sink 22 confiscated fishing vessels off the country's western coast to form artificial reefs on the bottom of the South China Sea, the Bernama news agency said on Tuesday.

The artificial reefs, which are generally formed to support marine life, will be created in the Malaysian sultanate of Terengganu after the holy month of Ramadan ends on October 12, the agency said.

Thirty-two illegal fishing boats have been confiscated this year, but nine of them have already been sunk, and one is being used for government purposes, the agency quoted a senior sea transport official as saying.

Malaysian authorities detain about 3,500 local, and over a thousand foreign illegal fishing boats every year. Poaching costs Malaysia more than $265 million annually.