Negros Oriental Philippines | Philippine News Agency: The number of illegal fishing boats operating in the provincial waters of Negros Oriental is increasing, most likely because of the absence of a representative from the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), according to Leonardo Aro, head of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in the province.
Aro said that over the past two or three years, the province did not have a MARINA personnel assigned here after its representation had died.
This has slowed down the paperwork and processing of other requirements for the commercial fishing vessels, particularly in the renewal of their licenses, Aro added.
According to Aro, there are an estimated 183 small and medium-sized commercial fishing boats operating in Negros Oriental, most of which are engaged in "cobcob" fishing, a type of activity that employs ring-nets.
This was based on a survey conducted by the National Statistics Office, he said.
Aro believes that of the total number of fishing boats, about half is operating illegally although he admitted that there was no way to confirm this unless MARINA would do an actual inspection.
He also lamented that some of these commercial fishing vessels continue to encroach on the 15-kilometer municipal territorial waters despite a law that bans their entry to these areas.
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I was actually in that Marina meeting on 3-ton commercial boat owners in Siaton last April. For many years there have been many pleadings to regulate commercial fishing, esp. on the reefs as this break the very foundation where the fish can reproduce. Just this week, we had a cubcub boat anchor on a coral "to rest"". These boats are regularly fishing right in front of MPAs in Siit, Siaton every night, and since the lights are so bright, this crime does not need any reporting to call the attention of the police. But we do plead with the police to protect the citizens from this very destructive exploitation.
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