TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines —The Project Seahorse Foundation (PSF) recently found that part of the Danajon Double Barrier Reef at Brgy. Handumon in Jandayan island of Getafe—a coastal town 92 kilometers from this city—has been damaged already, following successive dynamite blasting in the area.
PSF senior biologist Angie Nellas, after an investigation of her independent team, confirmed that the damage in one portion of the reef already measured 16 meters long with diameter of four meters in one portion, and then seven meters more in another portion.
The major dynamite blasting occurred last January 28 during the town fiesta. Reports had it that two persons who threw three dynamites in the site harvested around 180 kilos of snapper—locally known as mangagat. Only two of the three dynamites thrown to the reef area had exploded though. According to some barangay residents, the two persons were from Banacon but those who knew them were afraid to divulge their names and no one dared to place it in the police blotter for fear of retaliation. Handumon has been managing the marine protected area for 10 years already, in partnership with the PSF.
Nellas said the large damage seen in the reef must serve as wake-up call for the barangay and the town itself to preserve what is left of the nationally acclaimed MPA that had even been cited as Best MPA in 2007. Nellas’ team inspected the area after residents of barangay Handumon who had been managing the MPA reported unabated dynamite fishing which they feared would put their efforts to waste.