Coastal brgys urged: Help stop illegal activities

CEBU, Philippines - Lapu-Lapu Mayor Paz Radaza is calling on officials of coastal barangays in the city to assist the police and the Task Force Kalikasan in going against illegal fishing and illegal transport of corals and sargassum locally known as "samo".

Radaza said the Task Force Kalikasan found out recently that those involved in these illegal activities use coastal barangays in their operations. Radaza then met with the barangay captains of coastal barangays by Pajo Barangay Captain Leo Mercado, president of the Association of Barangay Councils.

Radaza said she was informed that the seaweed confiscated by the Task Force Kalikasan are brought to Lapu-Lapu from neighboring cities and provinces. Several apprehensions also showed that those involved in these illegal activities pass through Lapu-Lapu City in transporting the seaweed.

Radaza said that if the extraction of sargassum will continue, the same will not only affect marine resources, but also the volume of fish.

Aside from the police that supervise the Task Force Kalikasan, Radaza said she will also ask the help of other national government agencies and law enforcement agencies.

The Task Force Kalikasan in Lapu-Lapu City has also intensified its campaign against illegal fishing through market denial. They confiscated fish and other marine products obtained through illegal means before these can be sold to the market. - THE FREEMAN