25 Chinese fishermen nabbed

Twenty-five Chinese fishermen on two boats flying inverted Philippine flags have been arrested for straying into Philippine waters near Batanes, the coast guard reported yesterday.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Lt. Jeffrey Collado, commander of the vessel MCS 3010, said the 25 suspected Chinese poachers were stopped in the vicinity of Sabtang island, Batanes on Monday.

Collado said the PCG men were with Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) personnel led by director Asis Perez when they

apprehended the officers and crew of Chinese fishing boats

F/V She Kou and F/V Shen Lian Cheng. BFAR owns MCS 3010.

Perez said the boats were flying inverted Philippine flags.

The arrest happened at around 4 p.m. while MCS 3010 was patrolling the waters near Sabtang between Babuyan Island and Batanes.

“Based on existing rules, the fact that both foreign fishing vessels were flying Philippine flag gave rise to the presumption that they are engaged in poaching, as there seems to be an attempt to conceal the vessels’ true identity to enable them to engage in fishing activity in Philippine waters,” Perez said.

The Chinese reportedly gave the excuse that they were just passing through when they strayed into Philippine waters.

“The Chinese fishermen said they were headed west but then their route showed that they were not moving westward but toward Cagayan Island,” a known fishing ground, said Collado.

The fishermen reportedly were also unable to present papers that would have authorized their presence in Philippine waters. There was also no emergency such as bad weather condition or engine trouble that would have justified their having veered toward Batanes.

The fact that the Chinese were using fishing boats bolstered PCG’s and BFAR’s suspicion the foreigners were illegally fishing in the country.

“We boarded the fishing boats and while we did not find any fish on board, we saw several fishing equipment such as long lines and nets,” Collado said.

The fishing vessels were escorted to Basco, Batanes for further investigation.

“We will ensure that the incident will be thoroughly investigated following the proper procedures,” Perez said.

He added BFAR has informed the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of the incident and has requested for official interpreters to help in the investigation. It’s the DFA’s task to notify the Chinese embassy of the incident.

Last week, a joint PCG-BFAR patrol captured 18 Vietnamese fishermen suspected of poaching in Calayan island in Cagayan province. Several frozen fishes were found in their boats.