MANILA, Philippines – Twenty-three fishermen were arrested for using dynamite to catch fish in waters off Bolinao in Pangasinan.

The suspects, who all came from Batangas province, claimed that poverty drove them to use the improvised explosives.

“Wala naman kaming tiyak na trabaho,” said fisherman Jesusimo Siuco.

His companion, Domingo Millan, added “mahirap ang buhay”.

Authorities confiscated 200 pieces of blasting caps, and several drums of ammonium nitrate from their boat. A basin full of fish was also recovered from them.

Unlike fishing nets, dynamite fishing can produce 5 tons of fish but it can also destroy coral reefs.

This is the second time that authorities have arrested fishermen using explosives in Bolinao. -- Jing Vallejos, ABS-CBN News