ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - A Philippine Navy boat intercepted a watercraft loaded with more than a hundred sacks of illegally harvested helmet shells off Basilan, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said.
Pedling Munap, acting chief of the BFAR regional office here, said the navy intercepted the ‘jungkong’ motorboat Thursday dawn and discovered that the illegal shipment turned out to be helmet shells concealed in 104 jute sacks.
He said the confiscated items were immediately turned over to the Coast Guard Station here and the BFAR for proper custody.
He said initial investigation disclosed that the motorboat reportedly came from Basilan.
But Munap believed the helmet shells, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Cassidae and locally known as budyong, came from Tawi-Tawi, where they are abundant.
“To me wala ito (helmet shells) sa Basilan– I believe this came from Tawi-Tawi,” Munap told newsmen.
He said poaching of helmet shell is prohibited under the Administrative Order 158. “So we really have to confiscate these shells and try to trace the owner.”
The BFAR official said each matured shell is sold at P250 each and they are now accounting the total number of inside 104 sacks.