Police in the Bicol region claimed to have arrested up to 2,000 illegal fishing suspects last year, saying it was the result of a sustained campaign against destructive fishing methods. Chief Supt. Victor Deona, Bicol police director, said 2,027 persons involved in illegal fishing in the region had been arrested and jailed last year. The figure was 300 percent higher than that of 2013, during which 627 were arrested, he said. Authorities had also seized 64 commercial fishing vessels in the municipal waters along Burias Pass, where large-scale fishing is prohibited, covering the provinces of Masbate, Sorsogon, Albay and Camarines Sur. Also seized were hundreds of small boats used in illegal fishing.

Arguelles, M. (2015, August 1). Bicol police say 2,000 illegal fishing suspects nabbed. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A8.