Two fishermen who were allegedly caught in the act of grilling and cutting up dolphin meat were arrested by police in Valencia on Tuesday afternoon.

The fishermen, identified as Roger Toguib, 44, and Diomedes Sajulga, Jr., 38, both residents of Barangay Cutcutan, Valencia will be charged for violations against Fisheries Administrative Order 208, said SPO2 Gregorio Tubio.

According to Tubio, police operatives and personnel of the Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO) apprehended both men while they were slicing pieces of the spinner dolphin.

The authorities found Toquib and Sajulga after a concerned citizen reported to police that the alleged violators were cooking a dolphin at the shore in Barangay Cutcutan.

Both suspects claimed that they only chanced upon the dolphin while fishing and denied that they had been regularly poaching.

However, Tubio said that it was unlikely that the fishermen were not intentionally looking for a dolphin to capture as police found out that they already had a Lila-based buyer for the animal’s meat.

Both men are now detained at the Valencia Police Station lock-up jail.

Pursuant to Sections 11 and 97 of the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, Fisheries Administrative Order 208 prohibits the capture of rare, threatened and endangered species.

Violators face imprisonment for 12 to 20 years or a fine of P120,000, or both, according to the order. (A. Doydora)