By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Authorities recently intercepted three boxes of seahorses, said to have been illegally harvested from local waters, at Bacolod-Silay Airport.

In a report by ABS-CBN Bacolod, members of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Aviation Security Group stopped the boxes when the on-duty BFAR quarantine services officer noticed the contents.

The individual sending the boxes was identified as a Chinese businessman.

The shipment, which weighed 58 kilograms and cost an estimated P1.2 million, were scheduled for shipping to Manila on Saturday morning.

According to the cargo forwarding coordinator, who requested anonymity, the contents were declared as “dried fish.”

BFAR officials believe the seahorses were collected over a long period of time and sourced from the seas of northern Negros./DGB, WDJ