32 illegal fishermen arrested in Sibonga

The Sibonga town police and members of the Bantay Dagat arrested 32 illegal fishermen and seized more than 2,000 kilos of fish loaded in at least 40 boxes from a fishing boat along the coastal waters of barangay Bagacay Monday night.

The fishermen, on board F/B Rita 7, whose business address is located in Jasaan, Misamis Oriental, were caught fishing 4.2 kilometers away from the shorelines of barangay Bagacay. The law bars fishing activities within 15 kilometers from the shorelines.

Coastal law enforcers traced the fishing boat in the area through the Global Positioning System device.

The arrested fishermen will face a case for violating Republic Act 8550 or the Fisheries Code of the Philippines while the fishing boat is now anchored at the Sibonga Wharf. The fishing nets are now under the custody of the police.

On April 19, the Cebu Provincial Marine Protection and Conservation Council and the municipalities of Sibonga, Argao, Dalaguete, Alcoy, Boljoon, Oslob, Santander and Samboan signed a memorandum of agreement with the Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation Inc. to protect the municipal waters of southeastern Cebu.

Under the agreement, fish wardens, the police and the Police Environmental Desk Officers would closely work to guard the municipal waters in the area. - Flor Z. Perolina