Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project: November 2006 update
Added to website: 06 December 2006
Project Brief
Aim
The Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project (SLCRCP) is a four-year collaborative project (2002–2006), 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
Background: Our baseline surveying programme is designed to gather data about the biological and morphological standing of Sogod Bay. These data are combined with information on human and natural impacts on the reefs, along with oceanographic data, to ultimately produce a Geographical Information System ‘map’ of the various habitats of the bay. It is like a ‘stock-take’ of the current marine resources, which is being produced to provide policymakers and concerned institutions with information necessary to effectively manage those resources. To date, the northern end of Sogod Bay has been surveyed, and the remainder of the project will concentrate on the south and Limasawa Island. If you would like more information on our surveying rationale or methodology, please don’t hesitate to contact our Project Scientist.This month we have excelled with our marine monitoring around Sogod Bay bringing many of the Limasawa transects near to completion and starting a few new ones. Again, poor weather at the end of the month hampered our trips to Limasawa. The table below shows our one completed transect.
ReefCheck
Background: Based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), ReefCheck is the name of both the world’s largest coral reef monitoring network and of the common methodology used, allowing the comparison of results from various locations worldwide. Although less detailed than CCC’s baseline surveys, the ReefCheck method is effective for monitoring changes in reef health over time. CCC is proud to be a major contributing member of ReefCheck. Check out their site at www.ReefCheck.orgAt the end of the month, due to the high winds, we have been collecting further data for the Reef Check monitoring program. We have completed seven Reef Check transects on the reef at Ampo and two at Sta. Sofia MPA. The Reef Check organisation have expressed their pleasure that we are contributing a large quantity of surveys to their ongoing global reef monitoring program.
Marine Protected Area (M.P.A) Assessments
Background: Over our last 18 months here we have help set up and protect 4 M.P.A.s or ‘Fish Sanctuaries’ around the municipality of Padre Burgos: Lungsoda’an, Sta. Sofia, Tangka’an, and Buenavista. These sanctuaries help protect fish until they are large enough to swim further in search of food. When they do, they will leave the sanctuary and be available to be fished. This means that the fish caught are larger but also more abundant because they have had the protection over the time needed to reach sexual maturity and reproduction. Our primary assessments occurred around a year ago and the monitoring will help us to assess the impact this protection has had on the reefs.At the very start of the month we spent four days surveying the MPA at Molopolo/Sta. Cruz in Macrohon for the Municipal Office there and the Provincial Government of Southern Leyte. Five 50m transects at 12m depth were completed directly in front of the MPA at the edge of the buffer zone and another five further away from this point. Extra snorkel surveys were completed in the seagrass beds and lagoon in front of the mangroves both inside and outside the MPA. The report is yet to be completed but will hopefully yield some good results and make suggestions for improved management of the reef and lagoon.
Education and Community Projects
After a busy October with our community projects, our activity was somewhat limited this month as many members of the science team took their mid-term breaks following the science training program for the new volunteers and we surged ahead with our survey program. However, the dangerous marine animal signs planned for each MPA in Padre Burgos have really begun to look good and we hope to have them complete by Christmas. They have taken far longer than originally anticipated! They are designed to prevent the local children playing with animals such as the blue ringed octopus and sea snakes, both of which can be lethal if they bite.
Next month we have a data analysis session planned for the San Roque Reef Rangers, school lessons and meeting with local Barangays Tangka’an and Buenavista regarding the MPA surveys completed earlier this year.
Interesting/Unusual Sightings
The Napoleon wrasse seen on Ampo Reef last month seems to have become a resident fish and is now seen regularly on our dives. But this was not the biggest animal we saw…!
Word spread that Sonuk Point on the east side of Sogod Bay was the place to see whale sharks (tiki tiki). We visited the area in two separate groups over two days to see for ourselves. We were lucky enough to spot somewhere between 6-8 individuals (some were seen twice) with the largest well over 8m in length. This is the second year they have been spotted with such regularity in that area. Individual sharks can be identified by the pattern of spots on their bodies. Photographs were taken by staff and volunteers, the best of which will be submitted to the Shark Trust (www.sharktrust.org) and the Ecocean project in order to see if the same individuals as last years have returned. The sightings are promising for the development of ecotourism in the area and local employment (spotters and guides) if the sharks remain relatively undisturbed.
From the largest to the smallest…
This month we surveyed the seagrass beds adjacent to the mangrove forests at Molopolo/Sta. Cruz MPA in Macrohon. Those of us lucky enough to do this gained a real insight into the importance of these unique habitats as fish nursery grounds, providing both protection from larger reef predators and a valuable food source. Here large schools of juvenile emperors and snappers could be seen in the shallow waters together with juvenile fish of many other species. The protection of a similar ecosystem at Buenavista MPA in Padre Burgos will also hopefully yield many similar fish in the coming years that will move outside and support the local fishing industry.
Apo Island
I was fortunate enough to visit Apo Island this month just south of Negros Island. Here they have a world famous fish sanctuary and a sustainable approach to marine resource management. The local community realises the importance of marine protection and management. As a result, the fishermen actively and positively involve themselves with monitoring the sanctuary for illegal fishing and reap the benefits from the return of several resident schools of jack which had been wiped out by over fishing in the past. Many locals are also employed as dive guides or sell souvenirs to visiting tourists. Here dive tourism and fishing go hand in hand with divers being off limits from certain fishing grounds so as not to disturb the fishermen just as the fishermen are off limits from the fish sanctuary. Other reef areas are shared between the two user groups. The sheer quantity of fish was incredible but of course it did not happen overnight. With proper protection the fish stocks re-established themselves over several years and this was only possible due to the community working closely together for its mutual benefit.
Coral Cay Conservation provides resources to help sustain livelihoods and alleviate poverty through the protection, restoration and management of coral reefs and tropical forests.
