CLARK FREEPORT—Foreign fishermen including Vietnamese poachers will continue to fish along the country’s 200 kilometers economic zone because of the very rich marine resources of the area.
Nelson Bien, chief of the law enforcement and regulatory division of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Central Luzon, said the richness of the catch in the area is a magnet to foreign poachers who are equipped with modern fishing gear.
Bien said poachers usually trespass on Philippine waters on moonless nights when fish are attracted to superlights within the 18 kilometers to the West of the Philippines sea.
Bien also confirmed that 50 Filipino commercial fishing boats and 500 fishermen from Zambales continue their fishing near the Scarborough Shoal without being harassed by the Chinese coast guard who remain in the area.