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[av_heading heading=’Lack of boat fuel hampers Bantay Dagat operation ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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Tuesday, November 21, 2017
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ILOILO – The Provincial Bantay Dagat Task Force has not been operating for a week now. Its patrol boats do not have fuel.
There has been a delay in the procurement of the fuel, according to Provincial Administrator Raul Banias.
“The procurement has to go through the bidding process,” he explained yesterday.
Banias, however, clarified that local governments of coastal municipalities have teams that continue to secure their respective territorial waters from poachers.
The Philippine National Police’s Maritime Command and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) continue with their respective operations, too, he stressed.
The Bantay Dagat fuel procurement may be completed next week yet, said Banias.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. had said the Bantay Dagat could not totally stop illegal fishing activities in Iloilo’s vast territorial waters all by itself.
“From San Joaquin in southern Iloilo to Carles in the north – that’s the area our Bantay Dagat has to guard,” said Defensor.
Bantay Dagat only has seven patrol boats guarding Iloilo’s rich fishing grounds.
According to Banias, illegal fishing remains a problem, especially in northern Iloilo.
Most of the illegal fishers that Bantay Dagat apprehended were from neighboring provinces like Masbate, Cebu, Negros Occidental, and Capiz.
“Many fishermen, even from other provinces, are attracted to our rich fishing grounds. Sadly, some use illegal fishing methods such as destructive trawls or setting off dynamites,” said Defensor.
Last month, the local governments of Carles and Concepcion and BFAR Region 6 agreed to form a separate joint task force to combat illegal fishing.
The task force will run after those using destructive fishing gears such as hulbot-hulbot./PN
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