Boat operator charged for illegal fishing in Sta Fe

BFAR – 7 has filed cases against an illegal fishing boat operator from Negros Occidental for fishing in the waters in Santa Fe town in Bantayan Island using a trawl. The operator was apprehended last July 10. | Photo courtesy of BFAR – 7

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Illegal fishing charges were filed before the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office against a fishing boat operator from Negros Occidental who was arrested for trawl fishing on the waters of Sta. Fe town in Bantayan Island last July 10.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Central Visayas (BFAR-7) said that the use of trawl, an active fishing gear, is prohibited on municipal waters.

In an advisory, BFA-7 said that the operator, whom they did not name, will be facing criminal and administrative charges for violating the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998.

He was also found to be employing the services of “unlicensed” crew members, said a BFAR-7 advisory.

“The BFAR 7 – Fisheries Resource Protection Group, in a joint patrol operation with the Philippine National Police – Maritime Group, apprehended a commercial boat operator found fishing in the municipal waters off Santa Fe, Cebu,” the advisory reads.

Santa Fe is a fourth-class municipality that belonged to the Bantayan Group of Islands located approximately 140 kilometers northwest of Cebu City.

The BFAR-7 advisory said that law enforcement authorities have taken custody of the fishing boat and its gears while they turned over the confiscated fish to the Sta Fe Municipal and Natural Resources Office for proper disposal. / dcb