Stingrays believed to be from Samar are confiscated at the Pasil Fish Market. | DVMF FB page
CEBU CITY, Philippines–The Cebu City’s Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF) confiscated 11.5 kilos of stingrays on Saturday dawn, March 23.
Dr. Alice Utlang, DVMF head, said that the DVMF inspectors caught the stingrays at around 3 a.m. on a random inspection at the Pasil Fish Market, which is a notorious site for illegal trade of wildlife meat and dishes.
“Atong inspectors, ila gyod na otro-otrohon ang oras sa pag inspect aron masakpan gyod tong mga namaligya og bawal nga products,” Utlang told Cebu Daily News.
(“Our inspectors are doing random inspections at different hours so that they can catch those traders illegally selling these ‘banned products,’’ Utlang told Cebu Daily News.)
Utlang said that the confiscated stingrays were brought from Samar to Cebu, which was an indication of the continuation of the illegal industry of stingray fishing despite them being “protected species.”
Utlang said that the vendor caught selling stingrays could face up to P100,000 in penalty and the possibility of being banned from selling again at the Pasil Fish Market.
Read more: Cebu City DVMF out to find persons behind stingrays recovered in Pasil
On February, the DVMF also confiscated stingrays weighing up to 50 kilos left inside a styrofoam container at the Pasil Fish Market. They traced the the stingrays from Bantayan Island in the northern tip of Cebu.
Utlang said that stingrays had been commonly cooked into a dish called Larang, and for this reason, the hunting had continued for these protected species.
She encouraged people to stop patronizing stingray meat so that fishermen would find no need to catch them.
Utlang said that stingrays play an important role in the balance of the marine ecosystem as they consume small marine animals on the seafloor./dbs