A screencap of Sorgon’s status that accompanied his retweet of Fortaleza’s post.
Maybelle Fortaleza, a University Research Associate for Coral Reef Resiliency and Ecology Studies Laboratory in UP Mindanao, tweeted a screenshot of a message she got from a fisher which, in Tagalog, thanked her for helping the because dive shop owners have been threatening fishers with jail time for catching parrotfish. Her accompanying status simply read, “Hay,” accompanied by a sad emoji.
This was retweeted by Kent Sorgon, an ichthyologist based in UP Los Baños, accompanied by a status message that said: “Local dive shops mostly owned by foreigners are telling fisherfolk that they’ll report them to the police if they see them catching and selling parrotfish, an important food fish that is completely legal to catch here for their survival and livelihood. “Conservation” my ass.”
SunStar
MINDANAO. Typical barter trade scene in Panglima Sugala Municipal Fish Port. (Photo by Maybelle Fortaleza)
MINDANAO. Dr. Cleto L. Nañola Jr., head of the Coral Reef Resiliency and Ecology Studies Laboratory in UP Mindanao, looking at the variety of reef fishes on display in Panglima Sugala. (Photo by Argamar Habbibudin)
MINDANAO. Christine Salazar, Project Support Staff V of Coral Reef Resiliency and Ecology Studies Laboratory UP Mindanao, and Roger Irilis, training assistant of MSU-TCTO Office of Continuing Education and Extension Services, conducting their interview with Omar Amin in Panglima Sugala. (Photo by Maybelle Fortaleza)
MINDANAO. (L-R) Roger Irilis, training assistant of MSU-TCTO, and Dr. Cleto L. Nañola Jr., head of CRREST Lab in UP Mindanao, meeting the Municipal Administrator of Panglima Sugala, Atty. Khadiri Sahali. (Photo by Argamar Habbibudin)