Hundreds of frozen pangolins found on rogue fishing vessel
Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 2:35 pm
wildlifenews.co.uk
Posted by Kevin Heath posted on April 15th, 2013 at 7: 05 am and last updated on April 15th, 2013 at 9: 25 am
Philippines Coastguards have announced that hundreds of frozen pangolins have been found in the hold of a rogue Chinese fishing vessel that went aground in one of it’s marine nature reserves. The fishing vessel that was operating illegally in the marine reserve went aground on the Tubbataha reef, in Palawan island, western Philippines, last week.
The 12 crew members of the Ming Long Yu are already facing charges of illegally poaching fish and attempting to bribe government officials. The crew are expected to face new charges on the discovery of the pangolins, or scaly anteaters.
The discovery of the pangolins may explain away some of the mystery surrounding the vessel. While the boat looks like a fishing vessel when coastguards examined the boat after the grounding they discovered that the boat had no fishing gear or ice aboard. The lack of equipment led some officials to believe that the vessel was a spy boat sent as tensions over fishing rights in the region gets higher.
None of the crew members had passports or any identification cards which added to the mystery of why the boat was in a protected marine reserve.
However when the boat was searched the officials found 400 boxes of body parts in the hold. It is suspected that the pangolins may have come from the western Philippine island of Palawan which is the nearest land to where the fishing boat went aground.
The pangolins may have also originated from Malaysia as the captain of the vessel claimed that the boat was not fishing in the park but went aground as the boat sailed from Malaysia to China. If the pangolins turns out to be Malaysian pangolins then the numbers of dead pangolins would be a devastating loss to the IUCN listed red list species. Other crew members said they were heading back to China from Indonesia.
Pangolin meat is a popular delicacy in China and parts of the pangolin are also used in traditional Chinese medicines.
The Tubbataha reef marine reserve is a World Heritage Site and one of the most protected parks in the Philippines. Even before the discovery of the pangolins the crew were facing prison sentences of up to 12 years or $300,000 in fines.
The fishing boat is still currently grounded on the reef as officials await the arrival of a salvage tug.
The protected reef system in the Sulu Sea has suffered a number of accidents recently. The most high profile so far this year was the grounding of a United States minesweeper the USS Guardian. In order to minimise damage to the reef the minesweeper was partially dismantled prior to being dragged from the reef.
Posted by Kevin Heath posted on April 15th, 2013 at 7: 05 am and last updated on April 15th, 2013 at 9: 25 am
Philippines Coastguards have announced that hundreds of frozen pangolins have been found in the hold of a rogue Chinese fishing vessel that went aground in one of it’s marine nature reserves. The fishing vessel that was operating illegally in the marine reserve went aground on the Tubbataha reef, in Palawan island, western Philippines, last week.
The 12 crew members of the Ming Long Yu are already facing charges of illegally poaching fish and attempting to bribe government officials. The crew are expected to face new charges on the discovery of the pangolins, or scaly anteaters.
The discovery of the pangolins may explain away some of the mystery surrounding the vessel. While the boat looks like a fishing vessel when coastguards examined the boat after the grounding they discovered that the boat had no fishing gear or ice aboard. The lack of equipment led some officials to believe that the vessel was a spy boat sent as tensions over fishing rights in the region gets higher.
None of the crew members had passports or any identification cards which added to the mystery of why the boat was in a protected marine reserve.
However when the boat was searched the officials found 400 boxes of body parts in the hold. It is suspected that the pangolins may have come from the western Philippine island of Palawan which is the nearest land to where the fishing boat went aground.
The pangolins may have also originated from Malaysia as the captain of the vessel claimed that the boat was not fishing in the park but went aground as the boat sailed from Malaysia to China. If the pangolins turns out to be Malaysian pangolins then the numbers of dead pangolins would be a devastating loss to the IUCN listed red list species. Other crew members said they were heading back to China from Indonesia.
Pangolin meat is a popular delicacy in China and parts of the pangolin are also used in traditional Chinese medicines.
The Tubbataha reef marine reserve is a World Heritage Site and one of the most protected parks in the Philippines. Even before the discovery of the pangolins the crew were facing prison sentences of up to 12 years or $300,000 in fines.
The fishing boat is still currently grounded on the reef as officials await the arrival of a salvage tug.
The protected reef system in the Sulu Sea has suffered a number of accidents recently. The most high profile so far this year was the grounding of a United States minesweeper the USS Guardian. In order to minimise damage to the reef the minesweeper was partially dismantled prior to being dragged from the reef.