MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines blamed Chinese fishermen on Monday for a massive loss of giant clams in a disputed shoal controlled by China’s coast guard in the South China Sea and urged an international inquiry into the amount of environmental damage in the area. The Philippine coast guard presented surveillance photographs of Chinese fishermen harvesting large numbers of giant clams for a number of years in a lagoon at Scarborough Shoal, but said signs of such activities stopped in March 2019. Parts of the surrounding coral appeared to be badly scarred, in what the coast guard said was apparently a futile search by the Chinese for more clams. The lagoon is a prominent fishing area which Filipinos call Bajo de Masinloc and the Chinese calll Huangyan Dao off the northwestern Philippines. “Those were the last remaining giant clams that we saw in Bajo de Masinloc,” Philippine coast guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said at a news conference. |
South Africa elections 2024: What you need to know2 workers die after buried alive in well in PhilippinesTaking presidential debates out of commission's hands virtually guarantees fewer viewersLuis Matos hits a 3Chinese foreign minister holds talks with ROK counterpartChina to cut individual housing provident fund loan rates by 0.25 percentage pointsSuzhou Symphony Orchestra embarks on Algeria tourAI, digital technologies inject new impetus to cultural tourism boomHarper, Clemens lift Phillies to 4Experts strategize to elevate Chinese sci