2017, July

It was a good day for fishing but almost all motorized fishing boats in Pasuquin town, about 35 kilometers from this city were just lying idle on the shoreline. Asking local fishers here what is going on and they would say, “all the big fish were gone” due to the presence of foreign fishing vessels allegedly encroaching Ilocos coast. Between 10 pm to 2 am, local fishers spotted said some 50 foreign fishing vessels equipped with “superlight” approximately 30 kilometers from the shore of Pasuquin all the way to Pagudpud. According to Pasuquin fishers, their catch has been dwindling over time since the presence of these foreign fishing vessels bearing some Chinese characters.