Photo from BFAR
SAN FERNANDO CITY, LA UNION –– Attempts at illegal fishing during the month-long Luzon quarantine were foiled last month in this province, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources reported on Wednesday (April 1).
On March 24, seven commercial fishing vessels and their crew were detained for unauthorized fishing, employing unlicensed fishing workers, and for using modified Danish Seine, which is prohibited.
FB Princess Charisse ML I, FB 4 Winds-9, FB AJG, FB Christian Ross, FB Liliana Olivia ML, FB Queen Ashley, and FB 4G were operating about 20.92 kilometers away from the shoreline of Bauang town, also in La Union.
“We will be filing criminal and administrative cases against the illegal fishermen when the courts open, and the Department of Agriculture adjudication committee convenes after the lifting of the quarantine order,” said Segundina Gaerlan, acting regional director of the BFAR Ilocos Region office.
If found guilty, the boats’ owners, operators, and crew will pay a fine equivalent to five times the value of the fish they caught or P2 million, whichever is higher and get jail time from two to 10 years.
Gaerlan said the boat captains would also be charged for “willfully and maliciously resisting” BFAR enforcers.
“Let us not use the quarantine period as an excuse to use illegal methods in our seas. While fishing is allowed during the lockdown, we must still conform with the laws that prohibit destructive fishing methods, or face the consequences that would be imposed by courts,” she said.