P50,000 worth of fish caught using dynamite turned over to orphanage
BACOLOD CITY – The Philippine Coast Guard on Sunday, August 11, turned over 180 kilograms of golden trevally fish, locally known as “badlon,” worth P50,000 caught through blast fishing to the Holy Family Homes Inc., an orphanage in Barangay Cabug, this city.

THE Coast Guard turns over 180 kilograms of seized golden trevally fish or ‘badlon’ worth P50,000 to the Holy Family Homes Inc. orphanage in Barangay Cabug, Bacolod City, on Sunday, August 11. (Photo courtesy of PCG-northern Negros Occidental)
Commander Jansen Benjamin, head of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)-northern Negros Occidental, said that these were illegally caught using dynamites and recovered at the Negros Occidental Food Terminal Market in Barangay 6 here on Sunday.
Benjamin said that an unidentified person abandoned six boxes of fish at the market. These were discovered after a joint landing denial operation conducted by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)-Negros Occidental with the assistance of PCG-northern Negros Occidental and Police Station 2.
A market denial and fish landing inspection aim to check if vendors sell fish illegally caught using dynamites, according to Benjamin.
Benjamin said that the operation was conducted after the BFAR provincial office received information about the sale of fish using the illegal method in a market here.
He said a licensed fish examiner was deployed and found out that these were caught through dynamite fishing because of their damaged internal organs.
Benjamin said that their turnover to any charitable institution is a procedure under the law.
The owner may be charged with administrative and criminal cases for violating Section 126 of Republic Act (RA) 10654 or “An act to prevent, deter, and eliminate illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, amending RA 8550 or The Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998.”
Section 126 of the law refers to possessing, dealing in, or disposing illegally caught or taken fish. It states that “it shall be unlawful to ship, commercially transport, offer for sale, sell, import, export, or have custody, control, or possession of, or to deal in or in any manner dispose of any fish or species caught, taken or retained in violation of this code.”