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. |
Russia vetoes UN Security Council draft resolution on weapons of mass destruction in outer spaceTwo Russian journalists jailed on 'extremism' charges for alleged work for Navalny groupSouth Africa will mark 30 years of freedom amid inequality, poverty and a tense election aheadMathew Barzal scores in 2nd OT as Islanders beat Hurricanes 3Offensive depth has Rangers on verge of sweep, Avalanche and Oilers each up 2Inside oneDavid Pryor, former governor and senator of Arkansas, is rememberedMexican journalist is slain south of Mexico City, spurring outrage among colleaguesVanessa Feltz's love interest StefanBaltimore bridge collapse: Loved ones await recovery of 2 bodies from wreckage