Philippine police took the fishermen and their boat into custody Tuesday
in a disputed South China Sea shoal, adding the vessel was loaded with
more than 350 endangered green sea turtle.
The Philippines need to find the facts, perhaps fine them and send the fishermen on their way. The Philippines should not turn this into an international incident. Charge them a fine and let China know if it is repeated the consequences will be worse. The dispute is between the two nations and should not victimize citizen fisherman to the point where they become political prisoners.
Philippine National Police Maritime Group director, Chief Superintendent
Noel Lazarus Vargas addresses the media during a news conference on the
police' arrest of Chinese fishermen at one of the disputed Shoals, the
Half Moon Shoal, off the South China Sea Thursday, May 8, 2014 at the
police headquarters at Camp Crame northeast of Manila, Philippines.
AP/Bullit Marquez
...It is the latest territorial spat (click here) between the two Asian nations, which have had increasingly tense disputes over two shoals and other areas of the South China Sea.
China earlier said via state media that Chinese officials lost contact with 11 fishermen after they were intercepted by armed men near Half Moon Shoal not far from the Philippines.
The shoal, called Hasa Hasa in the Philippines, is claimed by China as part of the Nansha island chain, known internationally as the Spratly Islands. The Spratlys are a major cluster of potentially oil- and gas-rich islands and reefs long disputed by China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei....
Chelonia mydas
Justification: (click here)
Analysis of historic and recent published accounts indicate extensive subpopulation declines in all major ocean basins over the last three generations as a result of overexploitation of eggs and adult females at nesting beaches, juveniles and adults in foraging areas, and, to a lesser extent, incidental mortality relating to marine fisheries and degradation of marine and nesting habitats. Analyses of subpopulation changes at 32 Index Sites distributed globally (Figure 1, Table 1; see link to additional information below) show a 48% to 67% decline in the number of mature females nesting annually over the last 3–generations....
...Population trends. Based on the actual and extrapolated changes in subpopulation size at the 32 Index Sites, it is apparent that the mean annual number of nesting females has declined by 48% to 67% over the last three generations.
The Mediterranean subspecies is critically endangered. These turtles have been in the Mediterranean since the past glacial age at least.
This species (click here) is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical waters, but is under threat everywhere from over-harvesting of both eggs and adults, and from accidental mortality in the nets and long-lines of fishing fleets.
We are facing the sixth extinction. This is serious business. Fishermen have to understand they are wiping out their own ecosystems. When that happens the only thing coming out of the sea will be algae and if the oceans get too hot they can forget that, too.
The Philippines need to find the facts, perhaps fine them and send the fishermen on their way. The Philippines should not turn this into an international incident. Charge them a fine and let China know if it is repeated the consequences will be worse. The dispute is between the two nations and should not victimize citizen fisherman to the point where they become political prisoners.
Philippine National Police Maritime Group director, Chief Superintendent
Noel Lazarus Vargas addresses the media during a news conference on the
police' arrest of Chinese fishermen at one of the disputed Shoals, the
Half Moon Shoal, off the South China Sea Thursday, May 8, 2014 at the
police headquarters at Camp Crame northeast of Manila, Philippines. AP/Bullit Marquez
...It is the latest territorial spat (click here) between the two Asian nations, which have had increasingly tense disputes over two shoals and other areas of the South China Sea.
China earlier said via state media that Chinese officials lost contact with 11 fishermen after they were intercepted by armed men near Half Moon Shoal not far from the Philippines.
The shoal, called Hasa Hasa in the Philippines, is claimed by China as part of the Nansha island chain, known internationally as the Spratly Islands. The Spratlys are a major cluster of potentially oil- and gas-rich islands and reefs long disputed by China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei....
Chelonia mydasJustification: (click here)
Analysis of historic and recent published accounts indicate extensive subpopulation declines in all major ocean basins over the last three generations as a result of overexploitation of eggs and adult females at nesting beaches, juveniles and adults in foraging areas, and, to a lesser extent, incidental mortality relating to marine fisheries and degradation of marine and nesting habitats. Analyses of subpopulation changes at 32 Index Sites distributed globally (Figure 1, Table 1; see link to additional information below) show a 48% to 67% decline in the number of mature females nesting annually over the last 3–generations....
...Population trends. Based on the actual and extrapolated changes in subpopulation size at the 32 Index Sites, it is apparent that the mean annual number of nesting females has declined by 48% to 67% over the last three generations.
The Mediterranean subspecies is critically endangered. These turtles have been in the Mediterranean since the past glacial age at least.
This species (click here) is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical waters, but is under threat everywhere from over-harvesting of both eggs and adults, and from accidental mortality in the nets and long-lines of fishing fleets.
We are facing the sixth extinction. This is serious business. Fishermen have to understand they are wiping out their own ecosystems. When that happens the only thing coming out of the sea will be algae and if the oceans get too hot they can forget that, too.
