Chinese poaching in Tubbataha to be brought to CITES

The government and various civil society groups have prepared a comprehensive report for submission to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) on a recent incident in which Chinese fishermen were caught poaching the endangered Napoleon wrasse in Philippine waters.

Lorenzo Tan, president of the World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines (WWF), said the submission of the report, together with other pertinent documents on the incident, will provide the basis for discussing the matter at the next CITES conference on transboundary marine law enforcement issues.

"This may also help lead to decisions on improvements needed in the global enforcement of CITES rules," he said.

Tan said Dr. Annabel Cabanban, a senior expert at WWF, prepared a report on the poaching incident.

The information contained in the report was obtained and integrated through the assistance of the Tubbataha Management Office (TMO), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Environmental Legal Assistance Center in Palawan, Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff, and the WWF Global Network.

Tan said the WWF is also assembling a "corroborative Philippine report" in coordination with BFAR, which is the national CITES authority for fish in the country.

This corroborative report will include "incidents (of poaching) in the recent past" involving Chinese nationals, he added.

According to the WWF, 600 Chinese nationals have been arrested for violating Philippine environmental and fishery laws in the waters of Palawan over the last nine years.

On Dec. 21 last year, Philippine authorities apprehended 30 Chinese fishermen within the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, a World Heritage site.

The Chinese fishermen’s vessel, Hoi Wan, yielded thousands of live fish, including at least 300 Napoleon wrasses.

The TMO has charged the Chinese fishermen with violating Sections 87, 97, and 100 of the Philippine Fisheries Code (Republic Act 8550) for poaching; taking rare, threatened and endangered species; and exporting fisheries species.

They were also charged for violating Section 20 of RA 7586 or the National Integrated Protected Areas System for using motorized equipment without a permit from the Protected Areas Management Board.