Dolphin Festival 2012 set to kick off in May

TAGBILARAN CITY  ,Philippines — The second annual Dolphin Festival has been scheduled to be held here in Bohol by the end of May, as part of the continuing campaign for the protection of endangered marine mammals.

Organizers said the festival will enhance efforts for effective management and protection of the cetaceans, and for tourism purposes.

“The Dolphin Festival will foster camaraderie among Boholanos in protecting marine environment and promote Bohol as the eco-tourism capital of the Philippines,” said Kristina Pahang, of the Large Marine Vertebrates Project-Philippines, who is in-charge of the information and education campaign and a member of the festival working group.

Among the attractions lined up for the festival are booths of the dolphin school, dolphin hearing and communication, dolphin photo identification, dolphin diet.

There will also be activities on arts and crafts, dolphin obstacle course, wall painting, live band, rescue simulation, safety education, trivia contest, film showing, and the Bohol Sea Young Defenders Day contest.

Governor Edgar Chatto, along with Rep. Rene Relampagos (1st district, Bohol) and BFAR-7 director Andres Bohol, will lead officials in opening the festival.

The Dolphin Festival is organized by the provincial government through the Bohol Environment Management Office (BEMO), the BFAR, the DENR, Physallus, a non-government organization working for marine mammals, and the Bohol Rescue Unit for Marine Mammals (BRUMM), among others.

BRUMM has been at the forefront in the salvaging of stranded and beached dolphins and whales in various parts of Bohol.

Physallus for its part said that, based on its study and research, the “seawaters surrounding Bohol are among the most productive in the Philippines resulting in highest cetacean biodiversity in the country,” and that 18 of the 28 species of marine mammals in the Philippines are found here.

The recent rare appearances of bryde’s whale and the blue whale in Pamilacan island validated this claim, and Physallus said: “Their presence promises a great future for Bohol’s economy through responsible eco-tourism.”