2 Lapu collectors nabbed for possession of P13M worth of ‘banned’ fishery products
| Photo from BFAR-7
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – Two collectors, who are based in Sitio Lupa Barangay Punta Engaño in Lapu-Lapu City, were arrested for the possession of “banned” fishery products worth close to P13 million, a report from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Central Visayas (BFAR-7) says.
“Local authorities arrested two collectors of banned fishery products and confiscated the items worth almost P13 million,” the BFAR-7 report states.
It added that the June 30 operation by their Fisheries Resource Protection Group (FRPG) was made in coordination with the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
Dr. Allan Poquita, BFAR-7 director, is reminding people to refrain from catching or gathering protected species that include giant clams, helmet shells, and triton shells because these play a significant role in marine life.
| Photo courtesy of BFAR-7
The two collectors are now facing charges for the violation of Section 96 (ban on coral exploitation and exportation) and Section 102 (fishing or taking of rare, threatened or endangered species) of Republic Act (RA) 10654 or “An Act to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing.”
They were also found to have violated Section 27 of RA 9147 or “The Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act” and Section 2 of the Fisheries Administrative Order 158 or the “Prohibition on the Gathering, Taking, Collecting, Selling, Transporting, or Possessing for Sale of Mollusks Belonging to the Genus Triton or Charonia and Cassis.”
The joint operation resulted in the recovery of the following:
• 3,213 helmet shell (budyong)
• 384 giant clams (taklobo) and 107 small sized giant clams
• three boxes containing 81 pieces of triton shell
• 52 kilograms of hoof shell (kukung kabayo)
• one box containing 42 pieces of shark jaw
• one box containing three pieces of dried sea turtle
• two sacks containing 33 pieces of organ pipe red coral
Photos below are courtesy of BFAR 7 – FRPG.
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