DLNR Secretary Ignacio Dela Cruz’s enforcement is as part of the Truth and Honesty in Fisheries Society that highlighted the third day of the conference held last month.
According to Dela Cruz, CNMI conservation officers responded to eight cases of illegal fishing during the reporting period that started after the previous Wespac meeting earlier this year.
All these cases took place in a sanctuary, and the violators used spears, masks, fins, kayaks and coolers.
The violators were fined amounts that ranged from $500 to $10,000.
Dela Cruz also reported that 14 people were caught harvesting trochus despite the moratorium. Some were also caught harvesting seashells.
One endangered species, a sea turtle, was confiscated from an individual and the case has already been forwarded to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Dela Cruz at the same time said they also conducted an outreach program on marine protected areas.
The campaign, he said, reached to over 1,000 individuals at schools, workplaces and villages.
