From Health and Lifestyle May 2003Being an archipelago, the Philippines’ coastal resources play a significant role in the lives of 40 % of its population that lives near the sea. While the entire country focuses on securing food for 70 million people through coastal resource management or CRM, only a few declared marine sanctuaries are actually being managed. Most remain protected areas in paper but are left exploited and unprotected. Although much of the destruction with the use of poison and explosives had been curved through efforts of both the government and NGO sectors, management and protection of most marine resources are still lacking.
In a small coastal barangay in Batangas however, I have discovered a small band of women and fisherfolks bent on protecting their sanctuary in order to ensure a better future for their children. The place is called Hugom and is located at the western end of a long stretch of beach that hugs Sigayan Bay. Twenty three kilometers from the town of San Juan through well-paved road, this coastal community has formed itself into organized groups with the help of NGOs addressing issues on livelihood, environmental education, forestry and fisheries. Late last year the environmental NGO Marine Ecosystem Council, Inc. (MEC) became their newest partner. MEC seeded cultured giant clams in the marine sanctuary in order to fast track recovery and consequently enhance its ecology. Clam seeding is known to increase fish density and biodiversity when the bivalves are placed on the reef and protected from poaching.
The week-end that I volunteered to help MEC monitor the clams on the reef, I had a chance to talk to Berting Sulit, the President of the people’s organization.
“Protecting the sanctuary has not been easy for us. It was an uphill climb because we had to deal with a lot of resistance from members of the community as well as fishermen from other barangays. Some of them refuse to respect the “no-take” provision of the municipal ordinance. They defy the rules and fish inside the sanctuary. But this was only in the beginning,” Ka Berting said.
When these same people realized that their catch in the fishing zones had been increasing, only then did they start to believe that sanctuaries do work. They provide refuge for fish and marine life, which in time transfer over to the surrounding reef areas due to increase in competition for food and space. The concept has been proven in successfully managed sanctuaries like Apo Island in Dumaguete or in Sitio Balanoy in Mabini, Batangas. Eventually the people who used to resist the idea became partners and advocates themselves.
And so it was with this knowledge that I ventured into the marine sanctuary one cloudless sunny morning to find the clams and check on their conditions. My companions and I swam from the shore to a reef that resembles giant fingers spread out on a sandy bottom. Between the fingers are trenches or canyons covered with sand and rubble. As we skimmed the surface, the brilliant reflections of the sun across the reef danced with the waves and melted with the radiant colors of the marine life forms below.
It was January and the water was cooler. At this time of year cold water from deeper depths rise up to the surface bringing with it a lot of nutrients. This natural process called upwelling brings about a profusion of activities on the reef. Increased food result to feeding frenzy among different organisms across the food chain. We swam and dived deeper following the slope cutting through a thick school of silvery fishes voraciously feeding on microscopic plankton in the water column. A band of parrotfishes that appeared to have been dipped in pastel watercolor paints scurried in front of us. Two of them started biting off a piece of knobby coral creating a scraping sound. From the bottom, long sea whips stretched out into the blue water towards the sun. Their tiny flowery polyps fluidly moved with the current as they filtered nutrients from the water. In between were brown basket sponges in various sizes, some clustered together like newly erupted volcanoes. I inspected one large sponge and saw a cleverly camouflaged stone fish attached to it. This venomous fish relies on its ability to change color based on where it has landed, to escape predation. Long sharp dorsal spines can inject venom which may not kill, but can inflict a nasty wound, cause severe pain and fever to an unsuspecting diver.
At forty feet, we came upon a lovely coral garden. Blue and green damsel fishes darted in and out of table corals, collectively reacting to perceived disturbance. A family of lionfishes were hovering near orange and red colored sponges, displaying their long venomous spines. In the center of a large coral head were eight Tridacna gigas or giant clams seeded last October. One of them was a twelve year old spawner measuring approximately ¾ of a meter. Its yellowish mantle was dotted with iridescent green blotches highlighted with bright blue spots. The outer shell was covered with minute marine organisms like shrimps and tiny crabs living among beds of algae and sponges.
As I swam on top of it to conduct a closer inspection, it reacted with a jolting movement of its shells, releasing a forceful spurt of water. This quick reaction is a good indicator of its health. I checked its stability knowing full well that this species of clam is not attached to the substrate, its mere weight anchors it to the bottom. After searching for the rest of the seeded clams and inspecting their conditions, we ventured a bit deeper towards a large pinnacle we have named after a diver friend and head and neck surgeon Dr. Bernie Singson. The large off-shore rock formation called “Bahura ni Bernie” is sticking out from a depth of 110 feet, its top at 80 feet is densely covered with soft and hard corals. Huge fan corals adorn the west and south walls. We decided to stay near the top to look for the bright blue tunicates often attached to rocks and corals. We found a rather big colony bunched up like bouquets. It is interesting to know that animals like these are now the focus of research for possible source of compounds that may produce medicines for cancer. Close to the colony, on the sandy bottom was a cone shell. It is another marine organism which may in the future be the source of salvation for many human illnesses. Just like tropical rainforests, the coral jungle is a treasure trove for possible cures to diseases afflicting man, a medicine cabinet of endless possibilities. As we surfaced from the dive, I couldn’t help but be thankful that there are communities like Hugom that put so much effort in protecting the marine environment and the creatures that rely on the reef for food, habitat and survival. Such effort in the end also translates to ensuring our very own survival.
In a small coastal barangay in Batangas however, I have discovered a small band of women and fisherfolks bent on protecting their sanctuary in order to ensure a better future for their children. The place is called Hugom and is located at the western end of a long stretch of beach that hugs Sigayan Bay. Twenty three kilometers from the town of San Juan through well-paved road, this coastal community has formed itself into organized groups with the help of NGOs addressing issues on livelihood, environmental education, forestry and fisheries. Late last year the environmental NGO Marine Ecosystem Council, Inc. (MEC) became their newest partner. MEC seeded cultured giant clams in the marine sanctuary in order to fast track recovery and consequently enhance its ecology. Clam seeding is known to increase fish density and biodiversity when the bivalves are placed on the reef and protected from poaching.
The week-end that I volunteered to help MEC monitor the clams on the reef, I had a chance to talk to Berting Sulit, the President of the people’s organization.
“Protecting the sanctuary has not been easy for us. It was an uphill climb because we had to deal with a lot of resistance from members of the community as well as fishermen from other barangays. Some of them refuse to respect the “no-take” provision of the municipal ordinance. They defy the rules and fish inside the sanctuary. But this was only in the beginning,” Ka Berting said.
When these same people realized that their catch in the fishing zones had been increasing, only then did they start to believe that sanctuaries do work. They provide refuge for fish and marine life, which in time transfer over to the surrounding reef areas due to increase in competition for food and space. The concept has been proven in successfully managed sanctuaries like Apo Island in Dumaguete or in Sitio Balanoy in Mabini, Batangas. Eventually the people who used to resist the idea became partners and advocates themselves.
And so it was with this knowledge that I ventured into the marine sanctuary one cloudless sunny morning to find the clams and check on their conditions. My companions and I swam from the shore to a reef that resembles giant fingers spread out on a sandy bottom. Between the fingers are trenches or canyons covered with sand and rubble. As we skimmed the surface, the brilliant reflections of the sun across the reef danced with the waves and melted with the radiant colors of the marine life forms below.
It was January and the water was cooler. At this time of year cold water from deeper depths rise up to the surface bringing with it a lot of nutrients. This natural process called upwelling brings about a profusion of activities on the reef. Increased food result to feeding frenzy among different organisms across the food chain. We swam and dived deeper following the slope cutting through a thick school of silvery fishes voraciously feeding on microscopic plankton in the water column. A band of parrotfishes that appeared to have been dipped in pastel watercolor paints scurried in front of us. Two of them started biting off a piece of knobby coral creating a scraping sound. From the bottom, long sea whips stretched out into the blue water towards the sun. Their tiny flowery polyps fluidly moved with the current as they filtered nutrients from the water. In between were brown basket sponges in various sizes, some clustered together like newly erupted volcanoes. I inspected one large sponge and saw a cleverly camouflaged stone fish attached to it. This venomous fish relies on its ability to change color based on where it has landed, to escape predation. Long sharp dorsal spines can inject venom which may not kill, but can inflict a nasty wound, cause severe pain and fever to an unsuspecting diver.
At forty feet, we came upon a lovely coral garden. Blue and green damsel fishes darted in and out of table corals, collectively reacting to perceived disturbance. A family of lionfishes were hovering near orange and red colored sponges, displaying their long venomous spines. In the center of a large coral head were eight Tridacna gigas or giant clams seeded last October. One of them was a twelve year old spawner measuring approximately ¾ of a meter. Its yellowish mantle was dotted with iridescent green blotches highlighted with bright blue spots. The outer shell was covered with minute marine organisms like shrimps and tiny crabs living among beds of algae and sponges.
As I swam on top of it to conduct a closer inspection, it reacted with a jolting movement of its shells, releasing a forceful spurt of water. This quick reaction is a good indicator of its health. I checked its stability knowing full well that this species of clam is not attached to the substrate, its mere weight anchors it to the bottom. After searching for the rest of the seeded clams and inspecting their conditions, we ventured a bit deeper towards a large pinnacle we have named after a diver friend and head and neck surgeon Dr. Bernie Singson. The large off-shore rock formation called “Bahura ni Bernie” is sticking out from a depth of 110 feet, its top at 80 feet is densely covered with soft and hard corals. Huge fan corals adorn the west and south walls. We decided to stay near the top to look for the bright blue tunicates often attached to rocks and corals. We found a rather big colony bunched up like bouquets. It is interesting to know that animals like these are now the focus of research for possible source of compounds that may produce medicines for cancer. Close to the colony, on the sandy bottom was a cone shell. It is another marine organism which may in the future be the source of salvation for many human illnesses. Just like tropical rainforests, the coral jungle is a treasure trove for possible cures to diseases afflicting man, a medicine cabinet of endless possibilities. As we surfaced from the dive, I couldn’t help but be thankful that there are communities like Hugom that put so much effort in protecting the marine environment and the creatures that rely on the reef for food, habitat and survival. Such effort in the end also translates to ensuring our very own survival.
No comments:
Post a Comment