Stories From the Field

Philippines: Marine Life in Batangas Under Threat
by Dindo Mejia
April 2004

To welcome 2004, I thought it would be nice to go for a dive. Little did I know that my New Year dive would go off with a bang! The last time I dove in Nasugbu was 3 years ago. Just as I was marveling at the recovery of the reef around the tip of Punta Fuego, where I saw two white-tip sharks, a huge and ancient-looking moray eel, many reef fishes and nudibranchs and lots of recovering corals, a powerful blast rattled every bone in my body. Because sound travels faster in water than in air and because we are composed mostly of water, it felt like an oil tanker had blown up just a few yards away! The local boatman did not see any blasting at the surface and guessed that the blast originated from about 3 miles away, just behind Twin Islands.

Despite the best efforts by the local communities, conservation groups, and resorts, illegal dynamite fishing notoriously continues in the area, jeopardizing the good tourism in the area and more importantly, the fisheries that locals depend on for food and protein. Once the reefs are blasted, the natural attractions for divers are destroyed and worse, the fish nurseries are lost, causing future fish stocks to shrink.

That same week, at the eastern end of the province in Laiya, Batangas, Earth Restoration Trust members Daisy Flores, Chris Salgado, TJ Isla and I sadly witnessed the slaughtering of a rare and magnificent creature, the thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus) at the local fish market. This 7-foot shark was being sold for a measly 80 pesos (US$1.45) a kilo! No doubt this shark was only a juvenile, as these beautiful creatures are known to grow up to 16-20 feet. In Malapasqua Island, Cebu, these threshers attract visitors from all over the world, generating income for the local economy. Clearly, these fish are worth so much more to us alive than dead and we must continue to protect them for their sake and ours.

These are just two random events observed from the western and eastern tips of Batangas, the most frequently dived area in the Philippines. In between are the popular dive resorts and well-managed sanctuaries which are relatively well-protected and offer a glimpse of how our seas should be – full of life and wonder. These sites show that it takes very little time for nature to bounce back and recover if we can only protect these areas and stop the destruction. Beyond these sites, however, a little more conservation and enforcement is needed. We can reverse this tide and restore the healthy abundance of our beautiful seas. With help from the LMMA network, community leaders in Lobo, Batangas area are able to meet and link up with other, more experienced leaders from other communities to exchange stories on good management practices, techniques on how to monitor their marine resources, and how to better manage their protected areas. As the saying goes, “a rising tide lifts all boats” and indeed, there is hope everywhere!