MASBATE CITY ---- Professional divers are pressing for immediate government action to put an end to illegal fishing in the towns of San Jacinto and Monreal in the province of Masbate to save its Manta Ray Bowl which have started making the province the newest favorite tourist adventure destination.

        The divers warned that unless illegal fishing is stopped, the manta rays would leave the area and thus snuff off bright prospects for a tourism industry in the island province.

        San Jacinto and Monreal have been noticed by divers from other countries because of the abundant presence of manta rays underneath their municipal waters.

        Concerned residents of Ticao Island said commercial fishing vessels locally known as “pangulong” and “palupad” as well as blast fishermen continue to ply their harmful trade in the waters of San Jacinto and Monreal despite efforts to stop them.

        Blast fishing involves the use of explosives to kill or stun fish so that they could easily be scooped into a waiting fishing boat.

        “Palupad” or baby trawl fishing, on the other hand, entails scrapping the bottom of the sea with finely-honed nets to catch fish, including the small ones and their fingerlings.

        The “pangulong” is composed of a fleet of three vessels, with massive lighting and fine mesh of nets, and a carrier. It sometimes uses a sonar boat to conceal its location while looking for a fishing spot.

        There are about 15 fleets operating in Monreal and San Jacinto allegedly with “protection” from ranking authorities in the region.

        All three practices deplete the supply of fish and damage coral reefs that serve as habitat to manta ray and other sea creatures.

        Meanwhile, homegrown vigilantes have been feared responsible for the on-and-off-and-on-again attack on fishing boats encroaching the waters off Barangay Canlibas in the municipality of Batuan that have already wrecked more than a dozen of vessels.

        Residents of Batuan and the adjoining towns of San Fernando and San Jacinto expressed this theory even as the PNP Maritime Group was reported investigating the incidents about attacks by local fishermen on fishing boats.

        The fishing boats that were reported destroyed by the vigilante group belonged to fishermen from Dimasalang town.

        Residents of Batuan said some marginalized fishermen in Ticao have armed themselves to drive away fishermen who encroach on the waters off the island.

        They said the local fishermen have grown desperate because of the failure of concerned law enforcers to protect their source of living. “They are forced by circumstances to put the law into their hands,” said one resident in his native tongue. EADelgado, PIA Masbate