Foreign fishing fleets threaten RP

Foreign fishing fleets threaten RP

MANILA (AFP): Fishing fleets of developed nations will become one of the main concerns of the ill-equipped Philippine navy as it tries to defend against poaching and toxic-waste dumping in the country's waters, President Fidel Ramos said yesterday.

The navy has "inadequate resources to effectively deal with them," and would employ a "selective sea control" strategy to meet the threats, he told navy officers and men here.

"As a result of declining fish catch all over the world, many developed countries have imposed sanctions and limitations on the operations of their fishing fleets.

"It is reasonable to expect that many of these fishing fleets will redeploy in the exclusive economic zones of developing countries. These fishing fleets can be potential threats to the further depletion of our marine resources," he added.