Illegal fishing endangering Hundred Islands’ giant clams, corals

The Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) has called on law enforcers to step up their anti-illegal fishing campaign at the famed Hundred Islands to protect endangered giant clams and coral reefs.

This as the PTA lauded a multi-agency task force for curbing dynamite fishing in the area.

PTA general manager Nixon Kua, in a statement, commended the task force composed of the Coast Guard, Maritime Police and the Alaminos police for helping the PTA and the UP Marine Science Institute (UPMSI) in its "Marine Biodiversity Enhancement Program" at the Hundred Islands National Park.

Kua, however, urged law enforcement agencies for an intensified but sustained drive to stop dynamite fishing in the waters of the Hundred Islands to protect the area’s unique underwater ecosystem.

The PTA and UPMSI have embarked on a giant clam mariculture and reseeding program at the park to replenish the clam’s diminishing natural stocks.

They are also currently rehabilitating coral reefs at the Hundred Islands National Park through coral transplantation.

Fishermen engaging in dynamite fishing have managed to slip into the research area near Quezon Island, destroying at least 15 giant and broodstock clams and injuring several others since January this year.

Dynamite fishing has also been reported around the islands of Governor’s, Clave, Sheel and Cathedral.