Illegal Fishing Takes Toll On Marine Life In Quezon

An Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin gets help from villagers and local marine experts after it got stranded on the coast of Barangay Kalilayan Ilaya in Quezon province’s Unisan town on February 13, 2024.. (Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Quezon)

LUCENA CITY, Quezon City, Philippines — The rampant illegal fishing activities in the seas off Quezon province are now taking their toll on marine species, an environmentalist group warned on Sunday.

Jay Lim, project officer of Tanggol Kalikasan (TK), reported that an Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin was stranded on the coast of Barangay Kalilayan Ilaya in Unisan town on Feb. 13.

Lim described the 1.75-meter-long and 40-kilo dolphin as having red eyes that it could barely open and could not feed on its own. The dolphin was rushed to the Unisan Multi-Species Hatchery for treatment.

Citing information from fishery authorities, Lim said the dolphin was separated from its pod due to possible disorientation from the effect of dynamite fishing, a destructive and prohibited method of catching fish that uses explosives.

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