ILOILO City – In the nearby island province of Guimaras, six fishermen accused of illegal fishing were arrested off the waters of Unisan Island in the municipality of Nueva Valencia.
The following crew members of the fishing vessel “Mic Mic” – all residents of Hinigaran, Negros Occidental – were detained in the Nueva Valencia police station:
* Antonio Hermosa, 47, of Barangay Tubungan, Hinigaran
* Erwin Genosa, 38, of the same village
* Joey Mones, 32, of the same village
* Joel Gatoslao, 59, of the same village
* Ariel Paradero, 30, of Barangay 1, Hinigaran
* Virgilio Denopol, 59, of the same village
The fishers used “trawl with active gear,” in violation of Republic Act 8550, or the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, as amended by Republic Act 10654, Coast Guard regional spokesman Ramil Palabrica said.
Coast Guard and Guimaras Bantay Dagat officers accosted the fishers at around 9 a.m. on July 21 after receiving a report on their presence some “6 nautical miles southeast of Unisan Island,” said Palabrica.
Containers of fish and the fishing boat seized from the fishers were taken by the Nueva Valencia police in custody.
Palabrica acknowledged that illegal fishers still operate in the region and vowed that the Coast Guard will keep hunting them. “Illegal fishing destroys our corals and small fish,” he said./PN
