30 arrested for illegal fishing in D’bantayan

Cebu’s Anti-Illegal Fishing Task Force operatives show tubs filled with illegally caught fish seized from two trawlers operating near islands off Daanbantayan town. The commercial boats also had manta rays and thresher sharks in the catch. (CDN Photo/Carine M. Asutilla)

At least 30 crewmen of two commercial fishing vessels were arrested near islands off Daanbantayan town, north Cebu for violation of the Fisheries Code.

They were caught trawl fishing in municipal waters and had in their possession a thresher shark, manta rays and seahorses, which are endangered species.

The fishing vessels Angel Mae and Laura Rowella, owned by Alma Arimas and Roy Visadre of Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, were spotted anchored between Isla de Gato and Tanguigi Island.
Loy Madrigal, chief of the provincial taskforce on illegal fishing, said they seized 150 barrels of assorted fish worth P200,000, two dried sea horses and a thresher shark from the Laura Rowella.

Commercial fishing in municipal waters or less than 15 kilometers from the shore violates the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998.

The boat captain of Angel Mae, Herculano Cordova said they dropped an anchor there due to rough seas. He said they caught the fish in Masbate and were supposed to bring them back to Cadiz.

The seahorses, he said, were to be used to treat a boat crew member suffering from stomach pain. He said the seahorses were to be grilled, crushed and boiled in water to be drunk by the ailing crewman.

The confiscated fish catch was distributed to barangays in Daanbantayan. The thresher shark was turned over to a group of marine biologists from the Discovery Channel for further studies, Madrigal said.

The crew were detained at the Daanbantayan police precinct and the two vessels were impounded.