Saving marinelife

CEBU, Philippines - In the past, fishermen did not have to go far just to catch fish, as the ocean back then was said to be teeming with different kinds of marine life.

But that was a long time ago, according to Felipe.  Today, Caohagan gets its daily supply of seafood (saang, soft-shelled lobsters and even ordinary fishes) from neighboring provinces like Leyte. These seafood are sold to people who visit the island everyday to have lunch at its white beaches. Andy Berame, coordinator of Lapu-Lapu City's Coastal Law Enforcement, said that for so many years, the seawaters in their area have been repeatedly raped by commercial and even local fishers so either the marine life are gone or they have moved to friendlier territories, he said.

In 60s  and70s, Berame recalled the catch per unit effort (CPEU) in their island was eight kilos, and it was in "a short time" of fishing. Today, Berame said even if a fisher spends overnight at sea, it is rare he gets that much fish. "Unless og mosud sila og illegal or sa sanctuary," he said. And that was what they did the past decades.

Illegal fishing methods such as the use of cyanide, dynamite and fine-mesh nets devoured Lapu-Lapu's fishes, turned its ocean beds into rubbles and killed its corals.

This was reportedly why in 2005, then Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza introduced the "community-based marine sanctuary stewardship program." The program was enshrined in a City Ordinance which states that private or public organizations can co-manage the city's marine sanctuaries. At that time, Lapu-Lapu already had eight marine sanctuaries, each still exposed to overfishing. "Mas dako pa among municipal waters kaysa territorial area. Bisa'g daghan pa among Bantay Dagat personnel, maglisud gihapon mi, " said  Berame, adding that he was happy to see the birth of the community-based marine sanctuary stewardship program.

In 2007, the city government awarded Shangri-La's Mactan Resort and Spa, together with Scotty's Dive Shop, the authority to become stewards of the sanctuary fronting the resort's beach area. Under the memorandum of agreement, Shangri-La and Scotty's will remain stewards of the 5.7-hectare reef for the next 15 years, unless revoked. Acting on what was agreed upon the MOA, sometime within that year, the resort started rehabilitating the reef. This writer joined a dive at Shangri-La's marine sanctuary in 2007 and at that time, a wide portion of the seabed was all sand, and the corals were either dead or very small, almost the size of a closed fist, and there were very few fishes, mostly small ones.

Giles Leonard, Shangri-La's director of Recreation, said at the start of their rehabilitation process in order to attract fishes, they initiated coral transplantation. But since it takes years for corals to grow an inch, Leonard said they built artificial corals like fish houses-made by guests as part of the resort's environmental education--which are made of hard cement and sand "to encourage more growth in the sanctuary." Old jet skis, garden statues, boat wrecks, among others were also placed in the sanctuary to serve as refuge for the various marine creatures.

"We found that 50 percent of the sanctuary is sand, no coral growth. We realize we need to fill up those gaps," he said. But so far, Leonard said that after six years since the rehabilitation started, "I believe it has recovered."

Shangri-La has also set up a "research area" within the sanctuary, where damaged corals are rehabilitated away from human activities. He explained that this research area is for them to study how to reintroduce indigenous species like seahorses to the sanctuary and how to bring back the sea grasses, which used to dominate some parts of the area. The resort also tied up with the University of San Carlos to help them with this cause.

Early this year, the resort employed a marine biologist whose main task is to monitor marine life in the reef. Irene Grace Tan, the marine biologist, said today giant clams, table corals, mushroom and soft corals are among the features of the sanctuary. Also, she said, if in the past only a few species were left after all the dynamite and cyanide fishing, most of those have settled back again in the reef after six years of protection.

To ensure the protection of their in-house reef, Leonard said they have round-the-clock guards in the area, plus, a searchlight in case a fishing boat wanders off within the no-fishing zone. He still hopes the local fishers would understand that what the resort is doing is also for their own benefit.

Shangri-La's marine sanctuary is now one of the dive spots in Mactan area, bringing in P300 from each diver to the coffers of the city (40%), the barangay (20%)and the stewards (40%), which are Shangri-La and Scotty's. Leonard said the money they get from dive fees go straight to the maintenance of the reef, as there is still a lot to do to improve it.

Apart from Shangri-La, the city has seven other marine sanctuaries under its care. Five of these are co-maintained by private sectors and fisherfolk organizations. The sanctuaries in barangays Talima, Dakit-dakit, San Vicente and the one in Minantaw have also received the same amount of rehabilitation, undertaken by their stewards.

“Ang advantage ani, sa part sa city kay naay makatabang og manage, plus, law enforcement,” Berame said, adding that barangays where these sanctuaries belong to also play an active role in protecting these treasures. Berame said that even if the city would double its Bantay Dagat personnel, presently it has about 150, it would not be enough to scour its vast seawaters especially during the night. Thus, he said it is best to relegate some of the important tasks to other stakeholders. The city does not need to force these tasks to its constituents, however, as after the success of Talima's sanctuary, local fisherfolk now want to have their own sanctuaries, too. Talima is now earning  P2 million per year from dive fees alone. The profit sharing is usually 40-40-20 (city-stewards-barangay), depending on the contract. The stewardship clause is 15 years, and renewable.

Berame said as the ocean life in their area is starting to come alive again, the livelihood of the people is also picking up. He said former local fishers are now part of the eco-tourism industry. They serve as boatmen while those who were quick to learn the trade are now dive guides. While in the sidelights, tens of resorts and more than 100 dive shops like Jayme Dive Center and Scotty's have benefitted from this progressing industry.

There is still, however, that decades-old problem that haunts Lapu-Lapu even to this day - dynamite and cyanide fishing. A number of individuals were already arrested and jailed for it, but Berame admitted these are still being practiced,especially in the areas of Caubian Island and Barangay Kalawisan. He said that while there are still people who depend on the sea, the problem would remain unresolved.

“Kung mahimo dili na sila pangisdaon,” he said, adding that these fishermen would be given alternative jobs in the eco-tourism industry or elsewhere, perhaps. Berame said there is an ongoing profiling of the skills of Talima's local fishermen or what they want to learn apart from fishing, so that the local government can help them find another work. This project is, however, still on its pilot stages.

Berame said formal education also plays an important role in eradicating outlawed fishing in their coastal areas. He explained that if the children are given proper education, they would not become fishermen when they grow up.

“To bring back the fish we have to keep the people away from the sea,” he said. Berame said for a long time tons and tons of fishes and marine lives were hauled from the ocean, hence it is not shocking if one day nothing is left in there. “Unless we stop it,” he said. — /QSB (FREEMAN)