Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




WATER WORLD
13 Vietnamese arrested in Philippines over sea turtles
by Staff Writers
Puerto Princesa, Philippines (AFP) Oct 21, 2013


Thirteen Vietnamese fishermen were arrested after being found in Philippine waters with a haul of protected sea turtles, police said Monday.

The fishermen were caught on Friday off the western Philippine island of Palawan, in waters near the South China Sea where authorities say foreign poaching of endangered or protected species has become a major problem.

"Upon initial inspection, it was found out that the said foreign fishing vessel is loaded with undetermined (number of) pieces of dead sea turtles," said Benigno Caabay, a station officer at the Palawan police provincial headquarters, quoting an official report.

The 13 are being held at a police camp in Palawan while officers look into filing a case against them, Caabay added.

Sea turtles are protected under Philippine law and catching them is punishable by at least 12 years in jail.

In recent years, Philippine authorities have frequently caught foreigners, often Chinese, catching or buying sea turtles in the waters off Palawan.

In November last year, in the same area where the Vietnamese were caught, the Philippine navy rescued more than 100 sea turtles from poachers. But the fishermen, whom authorities believed to be Chinese, escaped.

Twelve Chinese fishermen were also arrested in April after their boat, which ran aground on a protected reef, was found to be carrying hundreds of dead pangolins, or scaley anteaters, another protected species.

Their case is still pending in court.

The issue of foreigners poaching endangered species has become sensitive in the Philippines, with environmentalists calling for stronger action against the perpetrators.

Following pressure from their governments, the foreigners often have the charges dropped or lessened, allowing them to be deported quickly back home.

Caabay said fisheries experts were still determining what species of turtles were caught, although he stressed they were all protected under local laws.

The turtles were frozen and packed tightly in the cargo hold of the fishing vessel, he said.

Turtles are used in traditional medicine or are served as delicacy in many Asian countries.

.


Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








WATER WORLD
Climate change effects on ocean plankton said threat to fisheries
Warrnambool, Australia (UPI) Oct 18, 2013
A species of ocean plankton vital to the food chain is facing extinction with rising sea temperatures and may take fisheries with it, Australian scientists say. Warming oceans are a risk to Calanoid copepods, a plankton species that is a significant food source for fish larvae and therefore important for all commercial fisheries, they said. Scientists at Deakin University, with c ... read more


WATER WORLD
LADEE Continues To Settle Into Operational Lunar Orbit

NASA's moon landing remembered as a promise of a 'future which never happened'

Russia could build manned lunar base

China unveils its first and unnamed moon rover

WATER WORLD
Phobos-Grunt-2: Russia to probe Martian moon by 2022

Russian scientists set sights on space

Heading to a High Slope for Some Sunshine

Russia to Make Second Attempt at Mars Moon Mission

WATER WORLD
Ethiopia sets sights on stars with space program

US universities make big bets on startups

Iran plans new monkey space launch

Scott Carpenter, second American in orbit, dies at 88

WATER WORLD
NASA's China policy faces mounting pressure

Ten Years of Chinese Astronauts

NASA vows to review ban on Chinese astronomers

China criticises US space agency over 'discrimination'

WATER WORLD
Aerojet Rocketdyne Thrusters Help Cygnus Spacecraft Berth at the International Space Station

First CASIS Funded Payloads Berthed to the ISS

Unmanned cargo ship docks with orbiting Space Station

New space crew joins ISS on Olympic torch mission

WATER WORLD
Russia Readies Proton Rocket for October 20 Launch

Sunshield preparations bring Gaia closer to deep-space Soyuz launch

SES-8 Arrives At Cape Canaveral For SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch

Spaceport Colorado and S3 Sign Memorandum of Understanding

WATER WORLD
Astronomer see misaligned planets in distant system

Water discovered in remnants of extrasolar rocky world orbiting white dwarf

Space 'graveyard' reveals bits of an Earth-like planet

Scientists generate first map of clouds on an exoplanet

WATER WORLD
Students creating satellite with self-healing material

Out-of-fuel European satellite to come crashing down

Satellite's gravity-mapping mission is over: ESA

Electrically powered in a geostationary orbit




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement