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Earlier
in the
month of May, there were 11
Chinese fishermen
caught with 555
turtles on their boats. 378
turtles where found
dead and 177
turtles found alive were
put back into the sea.
Two
of the 11 fishermen are
minors so they were set free.
Poaching
turtles in the Philippine Sea
by Chinese is not
a new thing,
there were reports
in the past that Chinese
fishermen were also caught taking turtles and
giant clams from the disputed
waters.
Every
time this happened, China always demands the immediate release of the
fishermen because...
China argues
that:
The
action of the Philippines was “provocative”. They
believed the fishermen are in Chinese
territory.
Philippines
Argues:
Those
fishermen are within 60 miles
off the
coast of Palawan within
Philippine territory. Also, they are only
protecting
those turtles that are vulnerable
and critically endangered species.
Philippines
signed the international
law to protect the endangered species and China signed it too.
The turtles:
The
turtles are very valuable creatures.
Chinese
believe turtles are
magical
and
symbolize strength, endurance, and
longevity.
The
turtles are very useful for medicinal value, food and the
things that can
be made from
the shells for
example,
guitar picks and
handbags.
In
ancient times the shells were used as divination or to predict the
future. The eggs are believe
to have
an aphrodisiac qualities.
Clam Incident:
There
was
another
report
from ABSCBN
on May
23, 2014
about a
dozen of
fishing boats seen
harvesting clams kilometres away from the Philippine Island.
The
giant clams some experts said will grow that big within 50 yrs.
The
water for sure turns murky and giant calms shells were sure broken
when they took them out of the water.
These
giant clams, are also considered an endangered species. Some of them
are already extinct in some places where they were once common.
The Clams:
Chinese
people believe that
giant clams have aphrodisiac powers. Some scientists say that the
bivalves of the clams are rich in amino acid that trigger and
increased levels of sex hormones. The high zinc content also aids the
production of testosterone. Chinese also use the clam shells for
house decorations.
The UNCLOS:
The
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) prohibits
the exploitation or destruction of natural resources while the
disputes over who owns a certain territory still going on.
Also
the law prohibits the exploitation and selling of endangered species.
The
Philippines asked the UN's
Permanent Court of Arbitration to consider its case in January 2014.
But
China answered back by saying that they will not accept the
arbitration.
Clearly
the actions of these Chinese fishermen are defiant of the law of the
sea.
All
of those species have special part in
the ecosystem. So it would be nice if those
fishermen will learn some kind of discipline not to over exploit the
marine life in that area. Also, it would be
awesome if the next generation would
still be able to enjoy them just like we do.
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