Blast fishing re-emerges at Hundred Islands Park
By YSF
Sun.Star Pangasina News - Philippines
April 12, 2003
ALAMINOS -- The leadership crisis at the Philippine Tourism Authority has resulted in the "revival" of rampant dynamite fishing at the Hundred Islands National Park (HINP), seriously threatening the ecological balance of the famed tourist destination and the country's first national park.
This month alone, the local police have recorded more than 20 incidents of dynamite fishing near the different islands within the HINP, including the Shell Island, Governor Island and Kagaw Island.
"The blasts have been an almost daily occurrences at the islands for March alone," a resort owner said, bewailing the inaction of the police to stop the illegal practice of the fishermen.
The resort owner, who requested not to be named, likewise blamed the Philippine Tourism Authority for its inability to protect the islands which is widely popular for its elaborate ecosystems with white sand, shallow waters, caves, colorful fishes and bonsai trees.
The PTA oversees the protection of the HINP that has 123 islands and islets.
PTA Board Director Jeremy Regino, however said the authority was doing everything it can to address the problem but admitted that the leadership crisis at the PTA affects the performance of the employees.
"The PTA has two general managers who come up with orders and policies that oftentimes are conflicting, resulting in confusion among the employees and affecting their performance," Regino explained.
But the PTA central office has acted on the problem upon receiving the report by asking for assistance from the local police, Maritime and Coast Guard to go after the illegal fishermen, he added.
According to Regino, the two general managers are busy claiming the PTA's top post, with Nixon Kua filing a petition in the Court of Appeals questioning the appointment of Robert Dean Barbers as his replacement. He argued that the post has a fixed term of office that is supposed to end in 2006 and asked the CA to declare that he is the legitimate general manager.
Regino claimed that prior to the leadership crisis, the PTA was able to put in check the activities of fishermen engaged in dynamite fishing at the HINP by harnessing the support of the local residents and authorities, putting some teeth in the law against illegal fishing.
"The PTA was able to get the Protected Area Management Board (Pamb) of Pangasinan to declare areas of the HINP as a restoration zone and instituted penalties against violators," he said.
The Pamb, which bolstered the efforts of the PTA administration to protect the tourist spot, issued a resolution decrying the continued and unabated proliferation of destructive fishing methods and illegal fishing that have destroyed and damaged the fragile ecosystem of the HINP.
The Pamb, composed of representatives from the DENR, PTA, provincial and municipal governments and private sector, placed 265,209 square meters of the HINP under strict protection from all fishing activities and other human activities except for scientific studies, research, restoration activities and controlled tourist viewing, diving and snorkeling.
A maximum fine of P500, 000 and imprisonment of more than six years has been imposed against persons who will enter the protected area and commit violations like fishing, hunting and extractive activities that destroy or disturb marine life, possessing plant and animal derived from the area, dumping of wastes, altering or destroying buoys or boundary marks, and constructing any kind of structures in the area.
By YSF
Sun.Star Pangasina News - Philippines
April 12, 2003
ALAMINOS -- The leadership crisis at the Philippine Tourism Authority has resulted in the "revival" of rampant dynamite fishing at the Hundred Islands National Park (HINP), seriously threatening the ecological balance of the famed tourist destination and the country's first national park.
This month alone, the local police have recorded more than 20 incidents of dynamite fishing near the different islands within the HINP, including the Shell Island, Governor Island and Kagaw Island.
"The blasts have been an almost daily occurrences at the islands for March alone," a resort owner said, bewailing the inaction of the police to stop the illegal practice of the fishermen.
The resort owner, who requested not to be named, likewise blamed the Philippine Tourism Authority for its inability to protect the islands which is widely popular for its elaborate ecosystems with white sand, shallow waters, caves, colorful fishes and bonsai trees.
The PTA oversees the protection of the HINP that has 123 islands and islets.
PTA Board Director Jeremy Regino, however said the authority was doing everything it can to address the problem but admitted that the leadership crisis at the PTA affects the performance of the employees.
"The PTA has two general managers who come up with orders and policies that oftentimes are conflicting, resulting in confusion among the employees and affecting their performance," Regino explained.
But the PTA central office has acted on the problem upon receiving the report by asking for assistance from the local police, Maritime and Coast Guard to go after the illegal fishermen, he added.
According to Regino, the two general managers are busy claiming the PTA's top post, with Nixon Kua filing a petition in the Court of Appeals questioning the appointment of Robert Dean Barbers as his replacement. He argued that the post has a fixed term of office that is supposed to end in 2006 and asked the CA to declare that he is the legitimate general manager.
Regino claimed that prior to the leadership crisis, the PTA was able to put in check the activities of fishermen engaged in dynamite fishing at the HINP by harnessing the support of the local residents and authorities, putting some teeth in the law against illegal fishing.
"The PTA was able to get the Protected Area Management Board (Pamb) of Pangasinan to declare areas of the HINP as a restoration zone and instituted penalties against violators," he said.
The Pamb, which bolstered the efforts of the PTA administration to protect the tourist spot, issued a resolution decrying the continued and unabated proliferation of destructive fishing methods and illegal fishing that have destroyed and damaged the fragile ecosystem of the HINP.
The Pamb, composed of representatives from the DENR, PTA, provincial and municipal governments and private sector, placed 265,209 square meters of the HINP under strict protection from all fishing activities and other human activities except for scientific studies, research, restoration activities and controlled tourist viewing, diving and snorkeling.
A maximum fine of P500, 000 and imprisonment of more than six years has been imposed against persons who will enter the protected area and commit violations like fishing, hunting and extractive activities that destroy or disturb marine life, possessing plant and animal derived from the area, dumping of wastes, altering or destroying buoys or boundary marks, and constructing any kind of structures in the area.
