Tubbataha sea birds are dying

Wanted: biologists.

Sea birds in the Tubbataha Reefs National Marine Park need the attention of experts after hundreds of them were discovered dead and dying in the country’s premier diving spot and World Heritage site.

While he noted that the place has "never seen healthier, simply fabulous" reefs and marine life, environmental journalist and sportsman Vic Milan raised alarm over the fate of the sea birds, which he encountered during his Bancaravan sa Kalikasan in North Islet, otherwise known as Bird Islet, in the Tubbataha Reefs.

The Bancaravan sa Kalikasan was Milan’s island-hopping, "sentimental journey" from Aparri to Zamboanga on board an outrigger banca that brought him from the Sulu Sea to the Tubbataha Reefs.

Initial findings by Dr. Peter Sobrevega of the Department of Agriculture, with the assistance of Raoul Geollegue, Iloilo-based regional director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, showed that the sea birds — terns, boobies and noddies — were suffering from tapeworm infestation.

Sobrevega observed that the gizzards and intestines of a dozen dead sea birds which Milan brought for examination were "empty of ingesta" and had the "presence of mature tapeworms."

He described the sea bird’s internal parts as "severely emaciated" and "soiled with diarrhea."

Sobrevega recommended that further studies be made about the parasites and other diseases afflicting the sea birds to come up with an appropriate and comprehensive plan to save them.

"(I am) appealing for suggestions from qualified biologists on how best to address the problem," Milan said.