The Taiwanese fishermen who were recently found poaching within Philippine waters also dumped trash in the country’s territory, a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) official said yesterday.
“Less than one-fourth of a ton” of garbage were found by the PCG and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) personnel who went to inspect the Amianan Island in Batanes last June 10.
“Over the years, it (trash) has become plenty, but every time there is a typhoon some of it might have been washed away,” Monitoring Control and Surveillance (MCS) 3007 Commanding Officer Angel Viliran said.
He said that used cigarette butts, cooking pan, old clothes, and other litter, possibly traced to Taiwanese fishermen, were found in the island.
We took some for the pictures that will be evidence for our report, he said.
Viliran said that the Taiwanese on board their fishing vessels were in Amianan Island to take shelter from the inclement weather condition. Our fishermen told us that it happens whenever there is a bad weather, he said.
The possibility that the Taiwanese are the ones throwing their trash in the island’s vicinity is bolstered by the fact that Amianan is near Taiwan, the PCG official said.
In several past incidents, the PCG caught Taiwanese fishermen in a boat poaching off Batanes islands. The area around Balintang Channel is rich in fish like lapu-lapu (grouper) and tuna.
Recently, boat skipper Lin Dah Gwo and engineer Wu Jenq Shyong of FB “Der Maan Fure” were arrested for illegal fishing in Batanes.
Last May 7, the BFAR-owned MCS 3004 vessel with PCG personnel onboard intercepted a Taiwanese fishing boat named “Sheng Feng” near Yami Island, 6.5 nautical miles off Batanes.
MANILA BULLETIN
