More than 50 fishermen from the Philippines, who were being held in custody at the Palau jail, were allowed to return home after they paid fines to the Palau government. Philippine’s Ambassador to Palau, Romancito Marino, and the owners of the two Filipino vessels, whose crew were held in Palau, were able to come to an agreement with the Palau government on behalf of the arrested fishermen.
The agreement requires that each owner of the two fishing vessels pay the Palau Government $13,500 USD, that they forfeit all equipment aboard unrelated to the crew’s survival, provide $1,500 to the Philippine Embassy for the purchase of fuel for both vessels, and waive any right to the remuneration for the catch that was aboard the vessel at the time of apprehension. According to reports, the proceeds for the sale of the catch will be deposited into the national treasury.
FBca Joan-3 fishing vessel, which is captained by Carlito Sinday was apprehended by Palauan authorities on April 26, 2012 with 28 crew members on board. Then on May 16, 2012 local authorities apprehended the FBca McDennis fishing vessel, captained by Glen Boy Camallere, along with the 23 crew on board. All 53 fishermen set sail back to the Philippines on July 12, 2012.