Armed illegal fishers operate in Quezon waters, say groups

BLAST FISHING A Philippine Coast Guard member inspects a fishing boat loaded with blast fishing paraphernalia in Mauban town, Quezon province, in this photo taken in August 2023. Illegal fishing, however, continues in Quezon waters despite efforts to stop it. —PCG-SOUTHERN TAGALOG DISTRICT PHOTO

LUCENA CITY—An environmentalist group expressed concern that big-time illegal fishermen that prawl the Lamon Bay in Quezon province have been hiring armed crew, causing tension to rise in the rich fishing ground.

“The situation is worsening. The crew of big-time illegal fishermen now [carry] weapons, making them dangerous. It is an outright disrespect to law enforcers,” Jay Lim, project officer of Tanggol Kalikasan (TK), said in an interview on Monday.

He called on the authorities “to immediately act on the threat posed by illegal fishers not only against the environment but more so, against human lives, particularly law enforcers and small fishers.”

Allan Castillo, director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Quezon, confirmed Lim’s information.

Castillo described illegal fishing activities by commercial fishers in Lamon Bay as “very rampant.”

“As I observed, they do not intend to stop their illegal operations even if caught. They have criminal minds,” Castillo said in a separate interview.

He added: “They are organized, well-funded and would do everything to prevent being caught and arrested.”

Patrol Castillo said they have requested their central office to provide them with modern monitoring, control and surveillance equipment or a bigger sea vessel for their patrol operation.

Illegal fishing activities in Lamon Bay were also being reported almost every day by the Quezon police.

The resource-rich Lamon Bay facing the Pacific Ocean covers towns in the southern part of Quezon. It borders the coastal towns of Atimonan, Gumaca, Plaridel, Lopez, Calauag and the island of Alabat which hosts the municipalities of Alabat, Perez and Quezon.

Like several other fishing grounds in the country, fish stocks had also been depleted in the bay due to massive commercial operations and illegal fishing activities.

Environmentalists and marginalized fishermen assailed the big-time illegal fishers for using “buli-buli” (modified Danish seine) along with the equally destructive “pangulong” (purse seine) and “taksay” (ring net) in their operations.

The government has banned buli-buli fishing since 2013 because it destroys corals, seagrass and traps, and eventually kills small fish.A fisherman from Alabat Island confided to the Inquirer last week that small fishers like him have been “living dangerously” whenever they sail to fish.

‘Like Chinese in WPS’

The more than 50-year-old fisherman, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said the big vessels of commercial fishers “are acting like Chinese in the West Philippine Sea.”

“They often drive us away, threatening us with guns if we do not leave our traditional fishing ground for them alone,” he said, adding that his daily catch was now barely enough to feed his family.

He said they have long been protecting Lamon Bay.

“If we learned that there are fellow fishermen who are resorting to destructive methods like dynamite fishing, we would immediately talk to him and order him to stop,” he said.

Source of livelihood

The fisherman added: “The bay is our only source of income. We will not destroy it.”

Blast fishing and other irresponsible fishing methods drove sea creatures out of Lamon Bay.In 2015, a dead giant sperm whale was found stranded in Lamon Bay in Calauag town.

The deaths of the 40- tonto 50-ton-sperm whale and the 55.7-foot-long whale were linked to illegal fishing in the area.

According to Castillo, some local governments along the coast of Lamon Bay, especially Perez, have also been initiating operations against illegal fishers.

“But they have limited resources and floating assets,” he said.

Castillo said some local officials also condemned the illegal fishing activities on the bay, particularly inside their municipal water.

“But sad to say, we have yet to see real actions from them to stop illegal fishing,” he said.