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I got hold of World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) case
study on Tubbataha Reefs as a marine protected area. Why are the
Tubbataha Reefs so important? They are home to the most abundant
marine biodiversity on earth and are a pair of the largest true
coral atoll formations in the Philippines. Over the years,
researchers have recorded 396 species of corals—85 percent of all
coral species in the Philippines, 80 percent of those in the Coral
Triangle and about half of all coral species in the world. There are
479 species of fish, 79 species of algae, 10 species of seagrass, 7
species of breeding seabirds, 9 species of whales and dolphins and 2
of 7 species of marine turtles. Truly, it is a treasure trove of
marine wildlife!
The Tubbataha Reefs are found at
the very center of the Sulu Sea of which the nearest land mass is
Palawan. The reefs are estimated to cover an area of 100 square
kilometers with the larger north reef named Bird Islet measuring
about 16 km long and 4.5 km wide and the south reef or South Islet
measuring about 5 km long and 3 km wide.
Cagayancillo
Tubbataha has been in existence
for millennia and because of its ancient history and its ideal
conditions for supporting life, its biology has also become as rich
as its geological past. Larvae of corals and fishes are believed to
be carried by currents from Tubbataha to the surrounding reefs,
especially on the eastern side of Palawan, which supports the bigger
human population in the province.
The name “Tubbataha” came
from the language of the Samal, a seafaring people of the Sulu Sea
meaning “a long reef exposed at low tide.” Although the Samals
bestowed the name, Tubbataha is more closely associated with the
islands of Cagayancillo, the nearest human settlement. The reefs
were traditionally called “Gusong” by the Cagayanons as they,
along with the Samals, Badjaos and Tausugs have been the traditional
users of its resources. No humans have settled on the islands
through the ages because of the absence of fresh water.
Overfishing felt
The 1980s ushered in events that
had great bearing on the fate of Tubbataha. Cagayanon fishers
started to perceive the pressure of overfishing in their immediate
surroundings. They used traditional wooden sailboats called pangko
to gather shells, turtles, seabirds and their eggs. These trips took
from one week to one month depending on the winds. In the minds of
the Cagayanons, Tubbataha was a place of plenty.
By the mid-1980s, the traditional
pangko was replaced by boats with motorized engines, making trips to
Tubbataha faster and more frequent. At about the same time, seaweed
farming was introduced to Cagayancillo which became a good source of
income and which should have relieved fishing pressure on Tubbataha.
Unfortunately, the fishers from
Cagayancillo were replaced by those coming from Cebu and Iloilo
whose own coastal and marine environment were badly deteriorated.
Dynamite fishing
These new fishers introduced
dynamite and cyanide fishing, inflicting more damage to Tubbataha in
just a few years than the traditional seafarers from Sulu did over a
thousand of years. These fishers from Cebu and Iloilo resorted to
the use of dynamite to make their long-distance trips profitable
within a short period of time. They intermarried with Cagayanon
women, settled there and influenced local fishers to use cyanide on
the reefs of Cagayancillo and Tubbataha.
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