Project update - Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project (Philippines) - June 2004
Added to website: 01 June 2004
Project Brief
Aim
The Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project is a three-year collaborative project (2002-2005), to survey the coral reefs of Sogod Bay. The programme provides training and conservation education opportunities for local Filipinos, as part of an integrated programme to develop local capacity and ensure the long-term protection and sustainable use of marine resources throughout the region.
Location
Sogod Bay, Southern Leyte, South-Eastern Philippines.
CCC Partners
CCC is working at the invitation of and in partnership with the Provincial Government of Southern Leyte and the Philippine Reef & Rainforest Conservation Foundation Inc (PRRCFI).
Marine Science Programme
Baseline Surveys
Number and location of Surveys
Surveys continued at Limasawa, Dinahugan and Bo-ok
Number of transects completed
Two transects completed: 03 04; 06 02
Reef Check
Two potential sites have been identified in each of sectors 5 & 6 and it is planned to begin the new series of Reef Checks in Mid-July, with the ultimate goal of having two line transects in each of our survey sectors.
Interesting / Unusual Sightings
Pods of spinner and Risso’s dolphins and blue-spotted rays. There have also been reports of frequent whale shark sightings within the vicinity of Liloan (Sector 19), although CCC have not seen them as we have not been surveying within this area.
Environmental Awareness
Capacity Building/Training of Local Counterparts
Our Open Day programme has been relaunched at the new site, with two bookings for July. We have 60 Grade 1-4 students from Tangka-an Primary School arriving on the 4th of July and another 30 college students from St. James College, Maasin on the 18th. The popular “Fred the Fish” educational puppet show, which aims to teach marine awareness to young children, has been completely rebuilt at our new project site, and the script has been translated into Visayan to make it more accessible.
At the invitation of the Municipal Agricultural Officer, we visited Barangay Lungsuda-an to give an informal presentation to the fisherfolk on the occasion of the official launch of their new payou, which is an anchored fish aggregation device (FAD), consisting of 4 large coconut palms tethered to a vertical line. These devices are effective in the aggregation of pelagic fishes, such as jacks and barracuda, making them easier to catch. Although they don’t actually increase fish stocks, FADs such as the payou have distinct ecological benefits. Firstly, they take fishing pressure off the reef, where demersal stocks are lower than the pelagic stocks of the surrounding waters. Secondly, because the fish can be landed with a hook-and-line, they remove nets from the waters, which have been an ongoing source of reef litter and of secondary mortality of megafauna such as turtles and reef sharks. Thirdly, in areas with depleted fish stocks such as Sogod Bay, they allow Barangay fisherfolk to make a living without having to resort to destructive and/or unsustainable fishing practices.
