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Those responsible should be burned alive!!!14 dead sea turtles found in Apo Reef
By Katherine Evangelista
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 19:30:00 10/16/2008
MANILA, PhilippinesFourteen sea turtles were found dead inside a fish net in a protected sanctuary off Oriental Mindoro province, the Philippine Navy said Thursday.
The turtles were recovered Wednesday evening by environment officials in Sablayan town, Occidental Mindoro in the vicinity of Apo Reef Natural Park, a biodiversity hotspot beset by destructive fishing, said Navy spokesman Edgard Arevalo.
He said the dead marine animals could have been left by foreign poachers as two speedboats and a large fishing vessel with Chinese characters painted on its side and a machine gun mounted onboard were seen in the area Friday by members of the Municipal Environment Resources Office of Sablayan.
But the environment officials did not accost the boats, thinking they were part of the security details of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was visiting the province that day.
The following day, the boats were still seen in the protected area, Arevalo said, adding the suspects were seen laying fishing nets in the water. At the same time, a confirmation was received that no security vessels were deployed in the area for Arroyos visit.
This prompted local officials to report the incident to the Philippine Navy, which quickly sent a landing ship and a patrol gunboat from Sangley Point Naval Base in Cavite, Arevalo said.
On seeing the Navy vessels, the suspects hurriedly fled, leaving behind the fishing, he said.
Joint Naval operations with the Coast Guard, Army and, Mindoros environmental agency [are] still in progress, Arevalo said.
The Apo Reef Natural Park lies 15 nautical miles west of Sablayan. It's a major component of the Earth's coral triangle spanning 27,469 hectares.
Home to 385 species of fish, 190 coral, 26 algae and seven sea grass species, the park has lured divers from all over the world, and emerged as one of the world's premier diving destinations.
Earlier, the Philippine Navy caught 13 Taiwanese poachers in Linapacan, Palawan after they attempted to sink their fishing vessel containing 101 dead sea turtles.
