A Leviathan Turns Philippine Fishermen Into Desperate Darters
By FLOYD WHALEY, NYT, MAY 18, 2014
MASINLOC, the Philippines — On a scorching recent afternoon, fishermen from this sleepy Philippine town hauled blocks of ice onto a rickety, wooden fishing boat bobbing just off the shore. By nightfall, the boat would be on its way to coveted fishing grounds, and to a cat-and-mouse game with the Chinese Coast Guard.
The 30-foot boat, with bamboo outriggers to keep it stable in the often rough waters of the South China Sea, was bound for a reef known as Scarborough Shoal. Claimed by both the Philippines and China, the area has long been the stuff of local legend — a haven for blue marlin, red grouper, lobster, skipjack, yellowfin tuna and more.
“In Scarborough, you don’t have to catch the fish,” Jerry Escape, the town’s fisheries officer, said with a grin. “They just swim up to you and greet you and let you take them out of the water.”
(More here.)
MASINLOC, the Philippines — On a scorching recent afternoon, fishermen from this sleepy Philippine town hauled blocks of ice onto a rickety, wooden fishing boat bobbing just off the shore. By nightfall, the boat would be on its way to coveted fishing grounds, and to a cat-and-mouse game with the Chinese Coast Guard.
The 30-foot boat, with bamboo outriggers to keep it stable in the often rough waters of the South China Sea, was bound for a reef known as Scarborough Shoal. Claimed by both the Philippines and China, the area has long been the stuff of local legend — a haven for blue marlin, red grouper, lobster, skipjack, yellowfin tuna and more.
“In Scarborough, you don’t have to catch the fish,” Jerry Escape, the town’s fisheries officer, said with a grin. “They just swim up to you and greet you and let you take them out of the water.”
(More here.)
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