BFAR says private foreign fishers can fish in Bajo de Masinloc

Filipino fishing boats in Bajo de Masicloc on Thursday, October 6, 2022. (File photo by GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — Private fishers from other countries could trawl in Bajo de Masinloc, the spokesperson of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Nazario Briguera, said on Monday.

Briguera explained that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the July 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruling allowed private fisherfolk to fish in traditional fishing grounds such as Bajo de Masinloc.

“Under international law, as a traditional fishing ground, only private fishermen can fish there if they are foreigners. Those from the government and commercial are not allowed,” Briguera said in Filipino during the “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon” public briefing.

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China has been claiming ownership over Bajo de Masinloc — also known as Panatag Shoal or Scarborough Shoal — and other parts of the West Philippine Sea despite the PCA ruling that dismissed Beijing’s claim as baseless.

China’s encroachment into and aggression in the West Philippine Sea has also continued. It used water cannons and lasers, among others, to thwart and drive away Filipino vessels within Philippine waters.