12 Vietnamese poachers caught in Batanes

BASCO, Batanes, Philippines – Twelve Vietnamese poachers were apprehended last Saturday night off Mavudis Island in the country’s northernmost municipality of Itbayat.

They were arrested on board their fishing boat by a composite team of local policemen and Bantay Dagat volunteers.

Last March 24, nine other Vietnamese fishermen were caught off Sabtang Island by a Bantay Dagat patrol team headed by Senior Superintendent Eduardo Castillejos, provincial police director.

Robert Gabas, president of the local federation of fishermen, said these poachers use compressors and fish within the marine sanctuaries of the different Batanes towns.

The latest apprehension yielded assorted fish, turtles and corals. – Jack Castaño III