Barely a month has passed by since the successful extrication of the USS Guardian, a U.S. Navy vessel that ran aground in the protected marine park last January 2013 and a new incident involving a Chinese fishing vessel has figured in a incident again. Reports indicate that the vessel, a 48 by 8 meter ship was stuck on the reef at around 2340, April 8, 2013. The Chinese vessel did not communicate with the authorities and could only talk in Mandarin.
The two fishermen will be brought to Puerto Princesa City and will be charged with illegal fishing and poaching. A fine up to USD 200,000 will be imposed. In addition, the marine park authorities revealed that the radar used to monitor activities at Tubbataha is only open every three hours as it takes a lot of energy to operate.
The government, if it is to be really, really serious about protecting even remotely Tubbataha Reef, should spare not expense in order to ensure that the people charged with protecting the marine park have at their disposal equipment, vessel and training to ensure that a respectable enforcement force is able to effectively protect Tubbataha Reef from further incursion.
President Aquino should personally solve this problem as without his concerted effort and energies, nothing will improve, nothing will be done, and nothing will guarantee that adequate measures will be truly made available to protect, manage and ensure the survival of Tubbataha Reef.
Walang komento:
Mag-post ng isang Komento