Crack down on foreign poachers, WWF urges gov't

Following the discovery of poached sea turtles aboard a Chinese vessel in Philippine waters almost two weeks ago, environmental group World Wildlife Fund (WWF) called upon the government to enforce harsher measures against poachers. Filemon Romero, WWF Tawi-Tawi project manager, said the Philippines should stop giving poachers the "kid-glove" treatment. He bemoaned that offenders have been allowed to leave scot-free after merely paying a fine. "We worked so hard to save half a dozen [turtles] and these pirates kill them by the hundreds. It's just heartbreaking. If in our enforcement campaigns we have been strict with the poor local people, we should be unrelenting to foreigners who commit these fisheries and environmental crimes by destroying our national posterity such as our marine biodiversity," said Romero said in a statement on the WWF website Wednesday night. Last September 2, authorities boarded a moored Chinese poaching vessel between the isles of Batu Mandi & Mambahinawan in the Sulu Archipelago. Inspection revealed rows of sea turtles – dead, gutted and left to dry on deck, 50 of them dried, 58 freshly gutted and 18 still alive. Most of the turtles were green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), classified internationally as endangered and a flagship specie that WWF-Philippines and the DENR protects. "Considering that the crew was scuttling much of the carcasses to hide the evidence, the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau's (PAWB) final tally was pegged at 200 adult turtles and over 10,000 eggs killed," WWF noted. Nine surviving turtles, seven male and two female, were released on the morning of September 4. The craft's 19 crewmen are currently detained in Bongao port. The Chinese have been charged with violating the Philippine Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act (RA9147), which carries a fine of up to P1 million, along with a six-year jail term. However, Romero said this is by no means the first time that foreign nationals encroached upon Philippine waters to plunder its rich but dwindling marine resources. In December 2006, the M/V Hoi Wan, another Chinese fishing vessel, was stopped after authorities found fishermen poaching off Tubbataha Reef. The catch included 359 protected napoleon wrasse fish (Cheilinus undulatus). The case remains unresolved, WWF said. Another incident, the M/V Kwok Wai Ming case, took place in October 2006, where 24 Chinese blast fishermen were caught poaching off Mangsee Island in Balabac, Palawan. The prosecutor's office in Palawan initially dropped the case, before reversing their decision early this month. "This is a great sign. While we are not lacking environmental laws, enforcement and the political will to see these cases through leads much to be desired. WWF is hopeful that the accused finally get what's due for them," said Romero. According to the WWF statement, more than 900 foreigners have been arrested and charged for poaching in the waters of Palawan over the last nine years. More than 660 of these poachers hailed from China. Only one case, the January 2004 arrest of 17 Sino-poachers caught with 54 dead turtles, has ever led to a conviction. "But even they were pardoned after paying a light fine, in order not to strain the relations between the Philippines and China. WWF hopes that the Philippine government will finally have the resolve to dispense justice against foreign poachers who disregard both local and international laws," Romero said. - GMANews.TV