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. |
Williamson to lead New Zealand at the Twenty20 World Cup; Southee to make his 7th appearanceChina's sciGOP lawmakers in Kansas are moving to override the veto of a ban on gender care for minorsChinese FM meets with chairman of MSC FoundationArkansas teacher, 26, is charged with sexually assaulting 15Scarred UNESCO World Heritage site Jiuzhaigou recovers after quakeSri Lanka expresses hope to join BRICS+Rolling Stones show no signs of slowing during latest tour in TexasOracle bone script art exhibition unveiled in South AfricaPresident Xi on global, regional security