Gibo: Don't fish alone in WPS

Local fishermen should not sail to the West Philippine Sea alone, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said yesterday, following reports that the Chinese coast guard forced Filipino fisherfolk to return shells they had gathered from Panatag or Scarborough Shoal.

- ALEXIS ROMERO

“The best advice I can give is that small fishermen should not go there solo. A lot of times also we have fishermen rescued at sea because they went solo. There is strength in numbers, and there is enough catch for all as long as you are unimpeded inside the Bajo de Masinloc. An average fishing expedition there is up to 15 tons at times for the small vessels,” Teodoro said, referring to Panatag by one of its local names.

Teodoro noted that the government has a program to organize fishermen, provide them needed sea services and increase their capacity.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources also has an initiative to make the fishermen’s vessels bigger, he added.

Earlier this month, Chinese coast guard personnel ordered Filipino fishermen to return the shells they had collected from the Panatag Shoal to the sea, Philippine Coast Guard-West Philippine Sea (PCG-WPS) spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela reported.