BFAR: More Filipinos now fishing in Scarborough Shoal

Forty-four Filipino fishing boats in Bajo de Masinloc or the Scarborough Shoal were recently given fuel assistance by authorities, which indicated that more Filipinos were now fishing in the contested shoal, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said Sunday.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, BFAR Spokesperson Nazario Briguera said that 44,900 liters of diesel, 217 liters of drinking water, and 20 gallons of fresh water were given to Filipino fishermen during the latest rotational deployment of BFAR and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ships at the shoal.

“Ang maganda nito, kumpara sa nakaraan nating misyon, mas nadagdagan ang mga Filipino fishing boats na nabigyan ng ayuda. From 21 nung nakaraan, ngayon ay nasa 44,” he said.

(The good thing about this was that the number of Filipino fishing boats that were assisted has increased as compared to our previous mission, from 21 to 44.)

“Magandang senyales ito na ibig sabihin nadagdagan ang mga mangingisda natin na nangingisda doon sa Bajo de Masinloc,” he added.

(This is a good sign, meaning the number of Filipino fishermen who fish in Bajo de Masinloc has increased.)

Briguera said that Filipino fishermen caught 40 tonnes of fish in Bajo de Masinloc, which was also good news.

In another attempt to block a Philippine vessel from reaching Bajo de Masinloc, the China Coast Guard (CCG) on Thursday deployed a new floating barrier in the area to prevent the passage of the BFAR vessel BRP Datu Sanday.

The Datu Sanday was carrying diesel and aid for Filipino fisherfolk.

At least seven Chinese vessels blocked the path towards Bajo de Masinloc, but BRP Datu Sanday was able to break free after two hours and proceeded to the shoal to distribute aid to the fishing boats.

“Nakumpleto na po ‘yung mission. Nakabalik na sila sa ating mainland. Naging matagumpay sa kabila ng hinarap ulit na mga hamon,” Briguera said.

(We completed the mission. The vessel has returned to our mainland. We succeeded despite another round of challenges.)

PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela said Chinese vessels shadowed the BFAR during the mission. He also said Philippine vessels could not transmit their automatic identification system (AIS) signal even if it was on.

“We assume that they do the jamming every time they release their statements that they repelled our vessels. Through such jamming, any commercial AIS monitoring cannot also disprove such statement because they may not be able to find our vessels,” he told reporters.

Tarriela also said they spotted three People’s Liberation Army Navy vessels 25 nautical miles from Bajo de Masinloc, but these ships “did not approach the territorial sea limits.”

“Nonetheless, we observed that one of their gray hulls deployed a PLA Navy helicopter, which conducted patrols in the territorial airspace while we distributed the fuel subsidy to the Filipino fishing boats,” he added.

The Philippines earlier announced that it would rotate the deployment of BFAR and PCG vessels at Bajo de Masinloc starting this February to protect fishermen. — DVM, GMA Integrated News