PHL plans to build fishport on northeast coast

To keep Philippine fishing boats visible and encroachments in territorial waters under check, Manila is now going through the initial planning stages of building a fishport on the side of the Pacific Ocean that will include processing and cold storage facilities.

 

The government is targeting 2014 to start the construction phase with the budget estimated between P300 million and P400 million, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said Friday, noting the site will either be in Batanes, Aurora or Quezon.

 

“We have few fishing vessels on the Pacific side, because we don’t have much processing activities there, unlike in the South China Sea where there is greater presence of Philippine fishing vessels,” the Agriculture chief noted.

 

The presence of more fishing vessels on the Pacific side would serve to deter encroachments in Philippine waters, Alcala said. “This way, we can avoid this (poaching) because there will be increased presence,” he added.

On May 9, Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-cheng, 65, was killed after Philippine law enforcers fired shots at his fishing vessel which tried to ram the government's patrol boat in the Balintang Channel, near Batanes, according to Philippine officials. — VS, GMA News