BFAR Fish Cemetery haven for 24 sea creatures

DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines – At least 18 dolphins are buried at the Fish Cemetery located inside the compound of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Barangay Bonuan, Binloc.

A total of 24 sea creatures like dolphins, whales and sea turtles had found their home here.

Aside from dolphins, huge sea creatures like whales and giant sea turtles interred here. The heaviest of them all was a three-ton Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) found in Manila Bay on Dec. 31, 2008.

Of the dolphins however, the heaviest was a 500-kilogram Rissos dolphin (Grampus griseus) found in Barangay Tiblong, San Fabian town on July 18, 2000.

The smallest was a Spinner dolphin (Stenella longilostris) that weighed two kilograms only retrieved on March 8, 2000 in Barangay Sabangan this city.

First to be laid in this fish cemetery was a giant Sperm whale, named Moby Dick that was found in Malabon City in Metro Manila in February 1999.

Aside from Moby Dick, a dwarf Sperm whale (Kogia simus) found in Pangapisan, Lingayen, Pangasinan on May 8, 2005, was also buried here.

A 17-foot long whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) found in Manila Bay on Oct. 29, 2009; a giant sea turtle “Red Tape” (Dermochelys coriacea) found in Bugallon, Pangasinan in November 2002, and a green sea turtle (Chelona mydas) from Nibaliw, San Fabian, were buried here.

The latest to be buried here was a 78-kilogram rare striped dolphin ( (Stenella coeruleoalba)) found stranded in the beachfront of the Lingayen Capitol on Oct. 8.          

Each of these sea creatures had their respective tombstones inscribed with information such as their species, weight and place of recovery. 

Westly Rosario, BFAR center chief and founder of the Fish Cemetery, said the idea came about when a 1.2 ton whale abandoned by its owner was seized in Malabon in February 1999.

The dead sea animal was brought to BFAR-National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center (NIFTDC) here for disposal. It was buried in a plot inside the 24-hectare BFAR-NIFTDC compound in Barangay Bonuan Binloc, Dagupan City.

BFAR was unable to determine the specie of the whale because it was transported and buried at dawn, so they named it “Moby Dick.”

From a simple grave of Moby Dick, the area has become a common grave of other large endangered species, collected by BFAR-NIFTDC or brought by concerned citizens, local government units and fishermen.

“Burying the remains of protected fish species will remind a person that selling and eating their meat is a crime and not tolerated by the government,” Rosario said.

He said the cemetery institutionalizes respect to animals that contribute to the balance of aquatic environment.

Like the cemeteries for humans, the Fish Cemetery is being spruced during this period.