BY IME SORNITO
ILOILO – A fishing boat engaged in illegal fishing activities in Carles town was apprehended by the Iloilo Provincial Bantay Dagat Task Force, led by Police Colonel Ronaldo P. Palomo, director of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO).
The boat was caught using a Danish seine fishing method, locally known as hulbot-hulbot, at Sitio Piagao, Barangay Granada, Carles, Iloilo.
According to the Iloilo Provincial Bantay Dagat Task Force, communicated through Provincial Administrator Raul Banias, on Sunday, Feb. 4, while conducting a seaborne operation aboard the Carles Bantay Dagat Patrol Boat, the taskforce led by Palomo, together with the Carles Municipal Police Station, spotted and apprehended F/B JOSHUA 1.
The fishing boat, piloted by Ronald Garcia, 33, of Barangay Tabogon, Carles, Iloilo, along with his 16 crew members, was equipped with one engine, two sets of mechanical wrenches, 483 meters of scarring line, one set of Danish seine fishing net with sinker and floaters, one unit tom weight, 200 liters of diesel fuel, 10 pieces of empty plastic drums, and ten tubs of assorted fish worth P10,000.
The fishermen were informed of their violation, specifically of Fisheries Administrative Order No. 1, and were apprised of their constitutional rights to due process.
The skipper, Ronald Garcia, was turned over to the Carles Municipal Police Station for proper disposition, while the aforementioned crew members were released from custody as they were not the subject of the penal provisions of FAO 246-1.
The fishing boat, along with its accessories and fishing gear, is now in the custody of the Iloilo Provincial Bantay Dagat Task Force./PN
