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. |
Oklahoma man beat his girlfriend up while she was pregnantRangers rookie Wyatt Langford hits an insideBody of climber recovered after 1,000Texans WR Tank Dell shot in Florida, sustains minor wound, team saysHave you heard the one about Trump? Biden tries humor on the campaign trailInside Elizabeth Hurley's 'old fashioned' diet and exercise routineEstrada, Yastrzemski hit backKatie Holmes pays tribute to NY punk band Ramones as she rocks vintage TKatie Holmes pays tribute to NY punk band Ramones as she rocks vintage TRizzo hits 300th HR and Judge and Volpe also go deep in Yankees' 15