1,000 kg of dynamited fish from Palawan seized

Some of the 55 containers of dynamited fish from Palawan province seized by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources with the help of the Coast Guard and the Navy in a port in Cebu City. Carine M. Asutilla/Inquirer Visayas

CEBU CITY—More than 1,000 kilograms of dynamited fish were seized here on Sunday by authorities.

The seized cargo was loaded onto the fishing boat Christopher, which was inspected by Coast Guard and Navy men upon its arrival here.

The authorities received a tip about the boat carrying dynamited fish before the vessel’s arrival.

Authorities found 55 boxes and three basins of fish inside the storage area of the boat, which came from Palawan province.

The boat’s crewmen identified the boat owner as one Christopher Compa from La Paz, Leyte province.

The fish cargo is believed to be bound for Pasil Fish Market, according to Elvie Flores, officer in charge of the fisheries regulatory and law enforcement unit of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Bfar).

Flores said authorities still did not have the identity of the cargo’s consignee. She said the crewmen of the boat where the fish cargo was loaded refused to talk about the cargo but admitted that the fish came from Palawan.

Investigation showed that the boat is not registered and the boat captain, known only as Renato, does not have a license to operate a boat.

Andres Bojos, Bfar regional director, said the internal organs of the fish were bleeding, a sign that they were dynamited.

Authorities also found equipment for illegal fishing—like scoop nets, compressors, flippers and iron bars—in the boat   that, Bojos said, was used to first destroy corals before dynamites were thrown in the corals’ direction to kill fish.

The dynamited fish will float in the water and fishermen will simply scoop them up.

“They will drop the iron bars into the corals to disturb the fish,” Bojos said.

“As soon as the fish come out, they will throw the dynamite,” he said. “When the fish are all dead, they (fishermen) will then scoop them up,” he added.

Among the types of fish seized were mackerel and jack fish, Bojos said. The entire cargo, he added, could be worth more than P92,000.

According to Flores, two of the highest-ranking crewmen of the boat, the captain and the chief engineer, will be charged with possession of dynamited fish.

The seized cargo will be donated to public hospitals, jails, and orphanages.