PERSONNEL of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) have seized two motorboats they caught engaged in illegal fishing off the province of Zamboanga Sibugay, the PCG said Friday, March 1, 2024.
The Coast Guard District Southwestern Mindanao (CGDSWM) said the two motorboats were seized in the municipal waters off Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay on Tuesday, February 27.
The CGDSWM said the PCG personnel together with policemen of Kabasalan town were on seaborne patrol when they chanced upon the two motorboats engaged in illegal fishing, locally known as “hulbot-hulbot.”
Hulbot-hulbot or the use of modified Danish Siene is a banned fishing practice in the Philippines due to its destructive nature of operation, the CGDSWM said.
The CGDSWM did not release the identities of the individual they caught in the act of fishing illegally.
The CGDSWM noted that some of the hulbot-hulbot practitioners have been operating within the municipal waters, thus, the catch of small-scale fishermen has been directly affected due to the fact they use a fine mesh net and equipment that also destroys other marine resources. (SunStar Zamboanga)