15 arrested for illegal fishing

CEBU, Philippines - At least 15 crewmembers of a fishing vessel were arrested last week for alleged illegal fishing in Samboan. 

The Cebu Coast Guard Station said it will investigate the owner of the vessel and the crewmembers who were arrested by an enforcement team.

Cebu Coast Guard Station commander Rolando Punzalan said the 15 crewmembers were arrested on board F/B Edtan San Antonio around 5:30 a.m. on November 16. 

The vessel was intercepted 1.9 nautical miles west of Barangay Binlayan in Samboan.

The crewmembers were arrested for using fine mesh nets and gear in violation of Republic Act 8550, otherwise known as the Fishery Code of 1998.

Punzalan said that the 5.49 gross tonnage boat, the fishing gear and fish catch were worth at least P2 million.

These were turned over to Samboan Police Station for proper disposition, including the filing of charges against the crewmembers.

Meanwhile, environmental groups, including Pamalakaya, Fisheries and Marine Environmental Research Institute (FMERI) and the Visayan Sea Fisherfolk Forum (VSFF), said the fish ban is detrimental to the livelihood of small fishermen in the region.

“The idea is to ban large-scale commercial fishing vessels from the 15-kilometer municipal fishing water and strictly enforce the rights of small fishermen to traditional fishing areas. However the current fish ban imposed by BFAR targets the “small fish’ and not the “big fish,” said Pamalakaya vice chairperson Salvador France.

VSFF spokesperson Victor Lapaz said the fish ban in the Visayan Sea triggered arrests and detention of small fisherfolk.

The BFAR said the fish ban covers from the mouth of the Danao River on the northeastern tip of the Bantayan Island to Madridejos, through the lighthouse on the Gigantes Island to Clutaya Island, to Culasi Point in Capiz Province, coastward along the northern coast of Capiz to Bulacaue Point in Carles, Iloilo, southward along the eastern coast of Iloilo to the mouth of Talisay River, westward across Guimaras Strait to Tomonton Point in Occidental Negros, eastward along the northern coast of the Island of Negros and back to the mouth of Danao River in Escalante, Negros Occidental.

The groups maintained that some 100,000 municipal fishermen in the Visayan Sea will be affected by the five-month fish ban. – With Philstar.com/LPM (FREEMAN)