5 fishermen nabbed for alleged blast fishing in Occidental Mindoro
CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro — Five fishermen were arrested during a joint law enforcement operation for alleged blast fishing in the municipal waters of Looc, Occidental Mindoro, on Sunday afternoon.
Personnel from the Looc Municipal Police Station and the local Bantay Dagat intercepted the group at around 5:30 p.m., roughly 800 meters off the coast of Barangay Bulakan, after they were reportedly spotted using suspected explosives while fishing.
Authorities seized about 100 kilograms of assorted fish, a compressor and related equipment, fishing gear, two boat engines, and an unregistered navy blue motorized banca.
Article continues after this advertisement
READ: Over 1 ton of fish from blast fishing seized in Occ Mindoro
FEATURED STORIES
NEWSINFO
NEWSINFO
NEWSINFO
The occupants were also unable to present the required vessel and fisherfolk registration documents. Investigators also recovered two containers with substances believed to be ammonium nitrate, along with a glass bottle fitted with a blasting cap and wrapped in electrical tape — suspected components of an improvised explosive device.
The total estimated value of recovered items reached at least P126,000.
Charges for violation of Republic Act No. 10654, the amended Philippine Fisheries Code, are being prepared for filing with the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor in Occidental Mindoro./coa
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.