Sat, February 07, 2009
MANILA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Thirteen foreign fishermen have been arrested on an Indonesian-registered fishing boat in the southern Philippines for illegal entry, the Philippine Coast Guard said on Saturday.
The crewmen of the F/V Karya Wijaya were seized early on Friday morning by the coast guard miles off Talicud Island, Davao del Surprovince, according to Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo, commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard.
Tamayo told reporters that 11 of the crew members were Indonesians and the other were from Taiwan, China.
The coast guard patrols cornered the boat after a brief chase at sea, Tamayo said. Some 200 pieces of freshly-caught tuna, each weighing about 30 kilograms, were found on the vessel.
The fishermen and the foreign vessel are now at a coast guard station in Davao City.
The vessel and its crew could be cited for illegal entry into Philippine waters and for not having fishing permit issued by the country's Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
