5 nabbed for illegal fishing

By Paulo DS. Papa

Police authorities arrested on Monday, Jan. 31, two men in Tamban Port, Tinambac, Camarines Sur and confiscated from them eight tubs of fish weighing 300 kilos.

Major Dino Ben E. Regaspi, Tinambac police chief, said that the fish brought via boat by the suspects Noel A. Savilla, 53 and Roel DC. Savilla, 47, were illegally caught using dynamite within the waters of Barangay Sumaoy, Tara Island in Garchitorena.

He said the Fishery Law Enforcement Group of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) took samples from each tub and found their internal organs damaged by the explosions. The blast fishing activities were reported to Tinambac police by a concerned citizen.

Regaspi said that on Sunday, Jan. 30, they received a report about the fish shipment bound for Tamban Port the following day. The tip from a concerned citizen said five loud explosions were heard near Tara Island.

Earlier on the same day, police nabbed Rey DS. Borcelis, 27, Arjun B. Delos Santos, 23 and Henry E. Delos Santos, all of Sabang, Calabanga, Camarines Sur, for illegal fishing by using fine mesh nets and active gears.

The suspects are now under police custody and facing violation of 10654 or The Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998.