Cops arrest 33 fishermen

GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- Police arrested at least 33 fishermen allegedly fishing illegally on Thursday morning within the municipal waters in Alabel town, Sarangani.

Maj. Rey Salgado, chief of the Alabel municipal police station, said they caught them while fishing aboard four fishing boats around 9:30 a.m. off the shores of Barangay Ladol.

He said they got wind of the illegal activity through a report from concerned residents of the village.

Salgado said they proceeded to the area along with personnel from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR). “They were using fine mesh nets or those with smaller holes, which is prohibited,” he said in an interview. The use of such nets was banned as it also catches even juvenile or small fish and other marine species. Salgado said they also found the fishermen involved in “likom” fishing, an illegal method, using bamboo poles to scare fishes and drive them into the nets. He said the fishermen violated a municipal ordinance that prohibits such fishing methods in the waters of Alabel. The area is part of the 211,913-hectare Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape, which is a known spawning ground for tuna and home to critical marine species like dolphins and whales. Under Republic Act 10654, or the amended Fisheries Code, only non-destructive, passive gears like hook and line, and gill nets are allowed for fishing within municipal waters. Salgado said they turned over the confiscated fishing implements to BFAR and will use them as evidence in the filing of charges against the fishermen, who are detained at the Alabel police station. (PNA)