BACOLOD City – Six fishermen were arrested in separate anti-illegal fishing operations conducted by police and Bantay Dagat personnel in the waters of Cadiz City and Escalante City, Negros Occidental, on July 29.
The coordinated seaborne patrols were carried out by the Cadiz Component City Police Station and the Escalante Component City Police Station, in partnership with their respective Bantay Dagat units, as part of the intensified campaign against illegal fishing and the enforcement of the Basic Fishery Ordinance of 1998.
The first operation was conducted at about 6:36 a.m. in the territorial waters of Cadiz City, where police intercepted two fishermen from Concepcion, Iloilo.
Authorities said the suspects were allegedly engaged in illegal fishing without the required permits while operating a squid jigger motorized banca.
Seized from the suspects was the fishing vessel, valued at about P80,000.
At around 1:25 p.m., another joint patrol off Barangay Banquerohan, Cadiz City, led to the arrest of two fishermen from Sagay City who were also allegedly fishing without the necessary permits.
Police confiscated a panel fishing net worth an estimated P30,000.
The suspects and the recovered fishing gear were turned over to the Cadiz City Bantay Dagat Office for proper disposition.
In a separate operation at about 2 p.m., personnel of the Escalante Component City Police Station, together with the Police Environmental Desk Officer and the city’s Bantay Dagat Task Force, apprehended two fishermen inside the Marine Protected Area of Escalante Bay off Barangay Old Poblacion.
The suspects, both residents of Sagay City, were allegedly caught conducting illegal fishing activities aboard an unmarked motorized fishing boat within the protected marine area.
Authorities confiscated the unmarked 18-foot fishing boat powered by a 12-horsepower YAMA single-piston diesel engine, with an estimated value of P12,000.
Police said the operations underscore the continuing drive to protect marine resources and enforce fisheries laws across the northern coastal waters of Negros Occidental.
Charges are being prepared against the six suspects for alleged violations of existing fisheries regulations./PN
