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.
Disruptions at University of Chicago graduation as school withholds 4 diplomas over protests
Outrage as Tesla starts shipping $3,000 Cybertruck tent that looks nothing like as advertised
Early man's best friend was the fox as the animal was domesticated by humans, research suggests
NHS waiting lists fall for fifth month in a row as Rishi Sunak says 'our plan is working'
With strawberries and goats, a ‘farmastery’ reaches out to its neighbors
The Elle Woods effect: Good looking lawyers have more success in court, study finds
Hundreds fined, cars impounded at weekend street race meet
I'm from Texas and live in the UK, these are all the weird things I've found about British people
My baby daughter was left with horrifying pus
Struggling Chinese developer Evergrande warns it could run out of money
Real Madrid celebrates another Champions League title with its fans on streets of Spanish capital
How Lulu still looks fabulous at 75, from her skincare 'golden rule' to refusing to take lifts