The Philippine Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) apprehended a 42-ton Taiwanese vessel while allegedly poaching and operating long-line tuna fishing within the country’s territorial waters at Palanan Point in Isabela, it was recently reported.
It was the second such incident took place in this month alone in the waters off Region 2.
MV/DA-BFAR, a fisheries management, research, oceanographic and training vessel currently undertaking exploratory fishing activities in the area, chanced upon the poachers last April 18 aboard Sheng Yu Feng BK 746 with CT35476 side marking. It is owned and skippered by Chern Tzong Duenn, a Taiwanese. The crew is composed of another Taiwanese, two Indonesians, and three Chinese nationals.
The suspects are now in the custody of the office of the Bureau of Immigration in Aparri, Cagayan. The vessel was turned over to the Philippine Navy unit in San Vicente, Cagayan for safekeeping.
BFAR National Director Malcolm Sarmiento Jr. immediately ordered the filing of cases, following the investigation conducted by the local authorities.
This incident came after the apprehension of another Taiwanese vessel last April 7 for poaching off the coast of
Nine fishing crewmen, including three Taiwanese and six Filipinos, were nabbed by personnel of the Philippine Navy unit based at San Vicente Naval Base in
BFAR Region 2 Director Jovita Ayson said criminal complaints were already filed against Wu Mau Shuen (skipper and owner), Horng Jia Ming and Ang Hu Lai of Taiwan and their six Filipino crew members — Jonathan Dican, Roger Lazo, Jun Lazo, Charles Simon, Reynente Dican and Mario Bai — all of Babuyan Claro, Calayan, for illegal fishing.
The case was filed with the Office of the Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Jesusa Carag. Administrative cases were also filed against them for civil liability pursuant to the provisions of Sections 86 (unauthorized fishing) and 87 (poaching) of RA 8550.
Sarmiento said that the cost of the damage to marine resources caused by the illegal fishing activities runs into billions of pesos, noting the degradation of the marine environment, income loss to the fisherfolk, tax that could have been collected by the government, and the actual value of the fish poached.
Annually, large volumes of marine fisheries resources estimated at close to 80,000 metric tons and valued at R2.23 billion are lost to foreign fleets poaching in the Philippine waters.
Sarmiento said that the Pacific-side of the country where the poachers are caught is known to be the migratory path of tuna and tuna-like pelagic species.
Japanese scientists believed that the area is the only warm-water breeding ground of the blue-fin tuna, the most expensive of all the tuna species.
In the past, the Philippine waters had been the favorite fishing ground of poachers owing to the country’s lack of capability and equipment such as patrol vessels fast enough to run after the illegal fishers.