Nabs Vietnamese fishermen

Coast Guard nabs ten Vietnamese fishermen

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY: The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Palawan apprehended last Saturday a Vietnamese fishing vessel with ten fishermen on board for illegally encroaching into the country’s territorial waters.

Operatives of the PCG-Palawan and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) apprehended the 150-gross tonnage F/V Thanh Long with bow number TG 92566-TS for illegally fishing some 34 nautical miles east of Mangsee Island, Balabac, Palawan.

Apprehending BFAR fishery officer Samuel Caligdong identified the Vietnamese fishermen as Nguyen Vanleo (skipper), Tran Van Hoang, Nguyen Phuc, Nguyen Vaw Thuong, Woong Hoang Thanh, Phan Nhat Viet, Phan Van Tuaw, Nguyen Van Vien, Phan Van Khanh, Ho Van Tung.

Caligdong said the fishermen were using gillnet in the area during the apprehension.

The Provincial Committee on Illegal Entrants (PCIE), in its inventory of the fishing vessel which arrived at the city’s pier Sunday, found one dry shark and a stingray in their possession.

BFAR provincial fishery officer Panciano Gianan and lawyer Adel Villena filed on Monday a case for violation of Fisheries Administrative Order 200 in relation to Section 87 of Republic Act 8550 (poaching) against the foreign fishermen before the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office.

With the apprehension of the ten Vietnamese nationals, record showed that a total of 34 cases were filed against illegal foreign fishermen from 2002 to present.

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