Protectors of the deep

At some point in one’s life, this question will arise: is this all there is to it? For a group of diver friends, the question came up after years of engaging in recreational dives. For a while it was fun – they would dive to their hearts’ content, marveling at every coral, every fish, or every shark there is, clicking away with their cameras and appreciating the wonders of the deep blue sea. Sure, they would volunteer for the regular shore clean-up activities, ridding the waters of garbage thrown by insensitive souls. But somehow, these weren’t enough because right before their very eyes, the marine landscape started changing. Bleaching, dead corals, absence of indicator species of marine life – the signs couldn’t be ignored. Their underwater sanctuary is being threatened. Thus, the EcoRescue LiveAboard was born.

The mission got off to a good start recently when 22 divers boarded the MY Tristar, the official carrier of the ER LiveAboard Series, in Calatagan, Batangas. The goal was to go to Apo Reef, a protected marine sanctuary located between Mindoro and Palawan, and monitor the current situation of the said reef. Representatives from Reef Check Philippines, an international organization that monitors, protects and rehabilitates coral reefs in over 80 countries, were on hand to train the divers on simple monitoring methods.

"Our environment is in a state of emergency already. What we are aiming for is to promote the spirit of volunteerism among divers who have seen with their own eyes the state of our coral reefs," says ER executive director Jed Santos. Santos is also Reef Check Philippines board advisor and a PADI Rescue Diver.

It’s not that divers don’t care about the environment. In fact, observes program director Boy Siojo, 90 percent of divers in the country are quite aware of the need to save the environment. It’s just that most of them don’t know how.

"EcoRescue will be a vehicle for volunteers who want to do their part in saving our marine life," says Siojo, who is also a Greenpeace volunteer, PADI Dive Instructor and underwater videographer.

Ordinary LiveAboards are for paying divers who want to be able to conduct fun dives. At the ER LiveAboard, a diver gets to dive for a good cause. Instead of directly paying for a slot, a volunteer diver has to find a corporate partner that is willing to raise enough funds for the diver’s stay on the boat. According to managing director Oye Peralta, the ER is not competing with regular LiveAboards. "We just want to pick up where people have fallen short. Our dream is to be a Filipino NGO to get people together for one common cause. We are not starting a new chain here, we’re just addressing a weak link in the goal to save our environment," he says.

The idea is to be able to gather enough volunteers to participate in the series – the second leg of which is going to be held in the Visayas and the last, in Tubbataha Reef – and train them to develop certain skills, and coordinate with local government units and NGOs to stop the abuse of the environment. They also intend to conduct lectures and dialogues with local coastal communities, rangers and students. Eventually, says Santos, they would like to see a fleet of ER LiveAboard boats cruising our seas.

The ER organizers couldn’t stress the need for volunteers enough, and for a good reason. In a briefing by Reef Check Philippines’ Mario Marababol, a marine biologist, the divers – composed of businessmen, doctors and members of the media – got a glimpse of the true state of our reefs. With global warming already wreaking havoc on the fragile environment, manmade contributions further aggravate the problem. Some people might ask what the big deal is about the coral reefs. Well, for one, coral reefs are over 100 million years old and the largest living structures visible from outer space. The reefs, according to Reef Check, are home to 25 percent of all fish species and that they feed 350 million people. Without coral reefs, Bora fans won’t have their little piece of white sand paradise and 20 million scuba divers won’t be ooohing and ahhhing at these waterworld wonders. Without coral reefs, a lot of antibiotics and antiviral drugs won’t be developed and produced.

Alas, man in his greed couldn’t leave the reefs alone and, cursed with scarcity thinking, proceeded to systematically destroy these natural treasures. Reef Check declares that 15 percent of the world’s fish have been lost due to overfishing, blast and poison fishing, global warming and pollution. Another 30 percent are under serious threat of destruction. No thanks to the Pinoy’s ingenuity for having invented cyanide and blast fishing. As Marababol warns, "It takes a year for a coral to grow an inch, but it only takes minutes to destroy it."

Prior to sailing to Apo Reef, the ER team also volunteered to conduct pyramid building dives in Calatagan for its partner Conserve and Protect Oceans Foundation (CAPOCeans), a local organization headed by Vicente Madrigal Warns who pioneered the underwater pyramid-type or artificial reefs. Together, the divers moved 80-kilo blocks of cement, rocks and corals to complete the pyramids. CAPOceans has built 13 underwater pyramids – and is now building its 14th – with the help of over 1,000 divers coming over every weekend to do the flipper-breaking work. Why pyramid? "Because we found out it’s the most stable of all shapes. We tried to build square blocks but it didn’t hold against the sea’s strong currents," says Warns.

In Apo Reef, the divers were delighted to see a very good coral cover, meaning the place is teeming with life and color. "The last time I dove here was seven years ago and I am happy to see that no major damage has occurred. Of the 15 indicator species that should be present, we spotted 13," says Siojo. He, however, noted coral bleaching which "could be temporary but if the warm temperature doesn’t change soon, the damage could be permanent." Coral bleaching is a natural phenomenon caused by global warming and results in corals losing turning white. If the bleaching doesn’t let up, the coral will die. Elementary, my dear readers, if the corals die, the fish and other sea creatures will die for lack of food source and shelter the coral reefs provide. Without the small fishes – think of Nemo and Dory – that live in the coral reefs, the big fishes will be deprived of their food source and will disappear as well. Without the fishes, it won’t be hard to imagine what will happen next, right?

For Marababol and colleague Myrtle Arias, monitoring reefs on a regular basis is a must to be able to detect early signs of damage. Using a transect line – a device similar to a tape measure but bigger and longer – to divide the reef area in half to facilitate the counting and identifying of underwater life forms. First up is to survey the fish present, then count the creatures swimming about, including the invertebrates.

"We’re glad to see that one part of the reef, Apo Menor, which was heavily damaged by blast fishing years before, has already recovered because it is now so alive," says Marababol, adding that the corals in Apo Reef are boulder-sized. This is the first time that a reef check has been done in Apo Reef and so far, so good. ER volunteers agree that the communities in surrounding areas should be made aware of their responsibility and should develop a sense of ownership for the whole reef. That way, they won’t let poachers and other undesirable elements to "pollute" their seas. For a damaged coral to be fully rehabilitated under ideal conditions, be prepared to wait as much as 15 years.

Apart from fishes such as groupers, parrotfish, butterfly fish, humphead wrasse, and corals, the volunteers were delighted to see a few hawk’s bill turtles, with the MY Tristar crew even seeing sea snakes surfacing up the water. They were hoping to see sharks but perhaps it wasn’t the right season.

Non-divers, don’t despair for there is work for you to do as well. One is to learn how to dive so you’ll be able to see the urgency to the volunteers’ call for help. Or you can help out in the information and education campaign ER is conducting. All you need is to open your eyes to the signs when you go on a snorkeling spree or just bumming on the beach. The spirit of volunteerism doesn’t require you to be an expert on something, but of your willingness to help in whatever way you can. If you want to help, check out www.ecorescue. org. In fact, the first ER LiveAboard wouldn’t have sailed to sea without the volunteer spirit of its partners including Smart Communications, CAPOceans, RCF and MY Tristar. It’s bayanihan at its best.

As for the volunteer divers, this first of a series of LiveAboards has opened their eyes to what actions to take. Their idealism and optimism whenever they regroup after each dive were contagious and inspiring. Clearly, we’re seeing a different breed of divers here – a new generation of underwater warriors and guardians of the deep.