MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Ten Vietnamese allegedly caught poaching off Palawan province were arrested and will face poaching charges, according to the Philippine military.
The naval warship BRP Gregorio Del Pilar was patrolling the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) on Tuesday, August 8, when it sighted foreign fishing vessel Hua Houng off Palawan’s Tapuitan Point.
A spot report from authorities said this occurred in the vicinity of the Malampaya Gas Project, or some 10.5 nautical miles southwest of the Malampaya platform.
Captain Cherryl Tindog, spokesperson of the military Western Command (Wescom), said the crew of the warship boarded the fishing vessel and found that the Vietnamese crew had on board fine meshed fish net and pieces of a number of slaughtered sharks.
The warship escorted the fishing vessel to El Nido where further inspection was conducted by representatives of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) alongwith the police and coast guard.
The crew of the fishing vessel, all from Phuyen, Vietnam, were as follows:
- Thanh Hiep, 46 years old and boat’s captain
- Vo Van Lang, 47 years old
- Phan Dung, 49 years old
- Truong Cao Ky, 51 years old
- Dinh Van Hai, 46 years old
- Bui Van Bao, 30 years old,
- Tran Ngoc Son, 24 years old
- Do Hung, 54 years old
- Nguyen Van Huynh, 56 years old
- Nguyen Cung Vu, 22 years old
Tindog said Wescom has turned over custody of the fishing vesel to BFAR, which recommended the filing of charges against the Vietnamese crew.
– Rappler.com
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.