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Posted by Lauren Smith on

Sponsored Swim 14th October 2010

When i was about 10 years old i used to play this game when i was in the swimming pool, you know those vents where the heated water comes out of around the sides of the pool? Well i used to imagine that Great White Sharks would break through these vents and chase me around the pool – very James Bond i suppose, but it definately helped me to win some races using that psychology!

Me with the Shark Week Poster
I was reflecting on this when i was 3 hours into my (hopefully) 8 hour swim yesterday and thinking that although my motives had changed, 17 years down the line i am still relating sharks to swimming pools.
This swim was born out of one of my usual enthusiastic and optimistic (not to mention outlandish) statements; that i would do an 8 hour swim to raise awarness for European Shark Week, whose main push for 2010 is to strengthen the finning ban, and to raise money for a local Scottish shark charity to go towards tagging studies (Scottish Shark Tagging Program), and so after 3 weeks of not particularly serious training squeezed around work i jumped in!
I have to say i found the mental side of things more of a challenge than the physical – yes after 3 hours i was cold and yes after 6 hours i thought my arms were going to pop out of my shoulder sockets but that can be pushed through a lot easier than the “oh wow i’ve still got 6 hours to go…” or the “half an hour must have gone by… what? only 10 minutes?! that clock can’t be right?!!” , of course i had initially said i would aim for 8 hours but my collapse before. However for those of you who know me should know by now that it would be 8 hours or nothing! I did it, i swam for 8 hours, i covered 12 miles and i burnt over 4000 calories. Its true i enjoyed the physical challenge as much as i enjoyed raising awareness and collecting money for the European Shark Week and the SSTP!
I think i have raised close to £400 although will post an update to this once everything has been collected and totalled up! I will also post up my training and nutrition schedule for those of you who are interested…

Fuel and European Shark Week Badges on my “wave mat” at home!

I hope i have made a small bit of difference by doing the swim, on Wednesday night i watched SharkWater for the umpteenth time to fuel my mind and make me go for it on the swim even more so, shark finning is a horrendous practice and utterly wasteful, sharks are caught, hauled up on board the fishing vessels their fins are sliced off and then their bodies are thrown back overboard leaving the shark to either drown or bleed to death, its a huge problem to overcome on so many different levels from the people who go out and actually fin the sharks, to the consumers of the (chicken/pork flavoured) “shark fin” soup, to the shark finning mafia driving the finning operations. But basic laws are in place, these need to be strengthened, tightened and policed to close loop holes and rid this practice in its entirety.
Its a large undertaking but it’s no good just reflecting on how awfull a situation is, stand up, take action, be heard and change things for the better!
Well thats my opinion anyway……
Posted by Lauren Smith on

A Major Lesson from Palau June 2010

A major lesson from Palau

Palau is unlike many other countries in that it actually recognizes what it has i.e.: world class dive sites and instead of ruining and exploiting such a resource it embraces it and protects it.

I was particularly interested in how they were putting into practice their shark sanctuary policy (as unveiled to the world in September 2009) which banned the landing of sharks or shark fins by local or international vessels in Palauan waters. How is it policed? Does it work?

It is likely that to make such a bold statement as to declare your national waters a shark sanctuary you would have to be sure it would work, and of course it does.

Although in truth I believe if it was going to work anywhere it would be here due to a number of reasons; there was no existing international trade of shark meat or shark products, local fishermen avoid catching shark as they cannot sell it and Palauan’s do not eat it themselves.

Most of the islands are considered National Parks and so permits are required for visitors which are inspected by park rangers and finally the dive companies are savvy when it comes to issuing visitors with permits (it reflects badly on the company if their customers are not in possession of a valid permit and has consequences to boot) as well as their almost daily presence within their waters which must act as a strong deterrent to any international fishing vessels.

The ocean itself is also fundamental to the story of the creation of Palau (the country being born from a giant clam) as well as ocean practices such as fishing being featured in numerous folklore; being used to teach several morals and values.

For a country which only claimed independence in 1994 (having been owned/occupied by Spain, Germany, Japan and the United States). Palau stands in its own right as an example I wish we all could follow as a haven for sharks and other reef life. I must leave now, however I am keen to return especially during March time which is the Grey Reef Shark breeding season, which see’s specific dive sites teem with hundreds of shark’s (imagine that – perfection!).

So as I return to Manila for a final time, I can reflect on what an amazing time I have had both in the Philippines and Palau.

I would like to express my gratitude to Donsol Eco-Tour who enabled me to have some truly amazing encounters with Whale sharks which I will never forget, The TSRCP which gave me Thresher Sharks and so much more besides, Fish N’ Fins a super-duper dive experience in Palau and of course the guys at SSACN and SSTP who without which my computer illiterate self would never have been able to make this blog possible!

Finally thanks to all who kept up to date with this blog, I hope you found it informative and entertaining and I hope that in the future there will be plenty more like it!

Am I ready to go home for a while? Am I heck … bring on the next adventure!

Cheers to that!

Posted by Lauren Smith on

Round and About Palau June 2010

Round and about Palau

Once we had done the majority of our dives we decided to rent a car for a couple of days and investigate some of the main land based attractions that Palau has on offer.
First on the list was the stone monolith’s on the Northern tip of Babeldaob (big island) in Ngarchelong. These huge stone pillars of volcanic rock have been dated to c.1000 BC, but no-one is sure of how they got there. They sort of look like supports for a large structure (maybe a large Bai – a men’s meeting house), as some are lined up with the tops carved out as though to support something resting on top.

However I prefer the explanation provided by the guy looking after the site – : “The stones were made from creatures that are half human and half spirit that only work at night, one time one of these creatures was outcast from the group and so in an act of revenge carved a coconut into the shape of a cockerel, this turned into a real cockerel and was made to crow during the night whilst the half human and half spirit creatures were working, this made the sun rise and when dawn broke early all the creatures turned to stone! ”


The stone monolith’s in Ngarchelong.

We learnt that there were other stone monoliths around Palau and some of these had faces carved into them, one of these was in Melekeok which was next on our list of places to visit, so off we headed back South down the east coast road.

The first thing that strikes you about Melekeok is the huge Capitol Building, it is unlike anything else in Palau and was built when Melekeok was confirmed as the capital of Palau. Some people think the building is too much, I thought it was ok, as to whether it has been worth the reported $44 million spent on its creation, is another matter. As we continued down into the village we found the stone monolith with a face carved into it, which now acts as a rather grand addition to the edge of someone’s driveway!


The Capitol.

While in Melekeok we ate at one (situated to the right of the road which turns into the village – oh yes there are no road names in Palau!) of the two café’s available in the Palauan capital (we couldn’t find the second!). Where-upon we began chatting to a couple of guys in there about Captain Wilson – who was the first foreigner to ‘land’ in Palau, he was a British captain who ran aground near Ulong Channel in 1783, he rebuilt his ship in 3 months with the help of Koror’s High Chief Ibedul. As a mark of thanks Captain Wilson offered to take his son Prince Lebuu back to England for schooling, sadly a few months after his arrival he died of smallpox, his grave can still be found today and I am told a street was named after him, I must remember to have a look when I’m next in London.

The stone face of Melekeok.

We then headed back to Koror and to the Etpison museum which houses a fantastic collection of old photographs and maps of Palau, alongside money discs made from giant clams and money beads from around Oceania. That evening we ate at the ‘Suriyothai at Kaldos’ which provided me with the best Thai Red Curry I have ever tasted (I asked for extra hot) and a tankard of ‘Red Rooster – local beer’ which was as big as my head!

The following day we headed up the Western side of Babeldaob to Ngardmau falls, Palau’s largest waterfall. Here you hike downhill through the jungle and across a river, at one point following an old railway line dating from the Japanese occupation during the 1940’s, until you get to the falls, this takes around 25 minutes. Once at the falls you can go and stand underneath and get (painfully) pounded by the rapidly falling water, this provided a perfect way to cool down as well as a needlelike exfoliation for the skin!

Ngardmau falls – Ouch!

We then headed off in search of ‘Malsol’s tomb’ despite a good deal of searching in 40°C heat and taking our hire car to the max along the crazy tracks, we never did find the tomb… if anyone does please set my mind at ease and let me know where it is!?

Posted by Lauren Smith on

End of the Rainbow June 2010

End of the Rainbow

It would be fair to say I was in love with Palau before I had even left the Philippines, this had been born from various conversations I had had with diver’s around Malapascua Island who had previously been to Palau. As soon as you mention Palau you are greeted with a beaming smile and a glint in the eye, the sort of reaction anyone might give when they are remembering a place which not only met but exceeded their expectations and allowed them to fully indulge in their passion.

By the time I boarded the flight in Manila I was bordering on anxiety, had I put Palau up on an airy pedestal that just couldn’t be reached? During the flight I was put at ease somewhat when the immigration and customs declaration card was headed with the slogan “Welcome to Palau the end of the rainbow”, I mean as long as the pot of gold translated to bucket loads of sharks I would be happy! On arrival in Palau I was further reassured when the customs declaration guy waved me on telling me that I had come to the right place after reading that I was a Marine Biologist, and when I stepped outside of the airport there was an underwater mural complete with reef sharks adorning the walls of the airport.

But the point is I needn’t have worried, Palau is an incredible place; the people are so warm, friendly and helpful, the land is lush and the Sea’s, Oceans and Lagoons vary from turquoise to emerald green in colour and literally teem with life. For this reason alone the diving is sensational, but add to this the abundance of underground caves, channels, walls and wrecks and you have yourself a diving location which is phenomenal.

Big Drop Off

 

Gordon and I dived with Fish N’ Fins who I would recommend to anyone diving in Palau, during our stay we did 12 dives at the following sites; Big-Drop-Off (Ngemelis wall), Siaes Tunnel, Ulong Channel, Virgin Blue Hole, New-Drop-Off, Blue Holes, German Channel, Helmet Wreck, Chandelier Cave and of course the infamous Blue Corner (this we did 3 times). All dives were amazing and I could dive them all again for the rest of my life quite happily, but really we just scratched the surface as there are so many dive sites that you would need ideally a year or more to get a true feel for the diving available here.

Chandelier Cave system

The rumours are true !! – If you don’t want to see a shark while you dive here then you will have to dive with your eyes shut! My wishes came true with an abundance of grey reef sharks, white-tip reef sharks and black-tip reef sharks, however the pièce-de-résistance was a single mind blowing encounter at German Channel; best known for its Manta rays which come into the cleaning stations in the channel, shortly after decent we saw a manta ray cruise by and then we went to explore other areas of the site. I was about to turn away from one area when I felt an urgent prod from Gordon as I turned I could not believe my eyes – a lone female Great Hammerhead around 3m in length was passing by! Only 3 of us in the group saw her and I felt the need to confirm what I had seen continuously by making the hammer shape with my arms and head – I honestly thought at first that I was “Narked” or that I had finally succumbed to some sort of fantasy shark hallucinations! I later found out we were very lucky to see such a sight with large sharks such as the hammerheads or tiger sharks only seen about once every 6 months, so I thank my lucky shark stars!!!

Grey Reef sharks off Blue Corner

Whitetip reef sharks


Big fish freeway at Blue Corner

Posted by Lauren Smith on

A Wedding 29th May 2010

A Wedding

LOL – Lauren on Location – Calanggaman Island diving, a wedding, and the final dive at Monad Shoal.

On the 29th of May Gordon and I headed across to Calanggaman Island, a few hours South from Malapascua on a fun dive with Divelink. The first dive was an incredible wall dive, with huge soft corals and sponges, caves which pocket the wall and lots of reef fish as well as invertebrates to keep everyone happy.

Calanggaman Island

During the surface interval we pulled alongside the impressive sandspit at Calanggaman Island which gets exposed at low tide, and joined a wedding reception! Perhaps not the usual surface interval – but I wish it was! Nick & Flor Martorano were the perfect hosts and didn’t mind one bit that a bunch of diver’s some in wetsuits some in bikini’s had effectively crashed their wedding! To be fair it wasn’t as random as it sounds, Nick is good friends with Gary Cases (owner of Divelink) who was the best man and Nick & Flor had spent several days on Malapascua in the run up to the wedding where we were all introduced. By happy coincidence they live in Palau (where I am headed on the 9th of June) where Nick works as a dive instructor and underwater photographer/videographer (see www.oceanwonders.org) so hopefully we can catch up there.


The Bride and myself (probably the strangest wedding outfit I will ever wear!)

Following great food and a cheeky beer we completed a second dive (which the newly wedded couple joined us on) and then headed back to Malapascua, we had barely left Calanggaman when we were fortunate enough to see a whale (which is believed to be a sperm whale) at the surface then diving down raising its tail fluke in the air! Incredible!

A Sperm Whale

This week was my last diving Monad Shoal, and I was treated to a fantastic final display of Thresher sharks, Manta Rays, banded Sea Craite (Sea Snake) and spotted dolphins. Also a particular highlight for me was a Grey reef shark which came on to the cleaning station when I was conducting a fish census, I wouldn’t perhaps get so excited over a grey reef shark under normal circumstances, but although the grey reefs have been captured on an unmanned video camera no-one has seen them in person at Monad Shoal, so I was delighted with that unique sighting!

Well ‘Tempus fugit’ as they say… I can hardly believe that this weekend marks my last few days on Malapascua Island working for the Thresher Shark Research and Conservation Project, I will be going to Palau shortly and will continue the blog from there, from what I have learnt so far I cannot wait to dive there and hope for some more amazing experiences!

I would just like to thank everyone – staff and volunteers of the TSRCP for my time here which has been incredible, but of course the real star’s of the show, that have literally taken my breath away are all the inhabitants of Monad Shoal, with special mention to the Thresher Sharks and Manta Rays!

Can I pick a favourite? Staying true to form I would have to pick the Thresher Sharks…..

Posted by Lauren Smith on

100 dives for the one fin wonder!

100 dives for the one fin wonder!
LOL – Lauren on Location – another fantastic week for Lauren as she logs up her 100th dive and along with some of the members of the TSRCP team she goes freediving around Malapascua Island.
Most sites are quite shallow with the deepest freedive logged at 10m; however the most fascinating site was “coral gardens” located out of bounty beach. As the name suggests there’s lots of coral coverage with relatively few non-colonized sandy patches, there are many species of small reef dwelling fish (although we didn’t see any larger fish indicating the health of the reef is not as good as it could be) and you could literally spend hours here looking at and photographing the reef.

The Coral Gardens
The start of this week was a bit of a milestone for me as I logged my 100th dive. I was lucky, on my 100th I got a Thresher Shark circling and on dive 101 I had another fantastic Manta Ray visit with it passing so close and going over my head! I never thought I would be writing about manta ray sightings as often as I have been – the week previous to this I saw 2 manta rays and 1 thresher shark all circling together at the same time, I thought I was going to explode I was so excited! I couldn’t decide where to look; this practically resulted in whiplash from snapping my head back and forth between animals!!! I am told that such sightings are by no means typical and so feel extremely fortunate to be experiencing this number/quality of sightings.
Yesterday I was struck with an entirely new challenge, I had cut open my heel on my booties when Freediving at the weekend this had become infected (I will spare the readers the gory details –let’s just say it wasn’t looking good!) and my ankle was swollen, having already made the decision to get up at 4:20am and go out on the boat I was determined to find a way to dive.

Whatever it takes ….. the 1 fin wonder!

I tried pulling on my wetsuit, but there was no way my ankle could bend in that direction so instead I was kitted out in Helen’s rash vest and Gordon’s board shorts, to keep the shorts up, I tucked the rash vest in the boardie’s, which came half way up my chest and the pull cord was doubled up and tied around my back, to top it all off I wore one bootie and one fin for all the dives !!! After providing everyone with a good laugh at my expense I was pleasantly surprised with my 1 fining ability, however there are some amusing videos in existence with my foot kicking out at about 100 times of the finned one!! Turns out my effort was worth it as I got the best Thresher Shark sighting I have ever had and was able to get some pretty good shots!

Today I remain on land willing the infection not to get out of control and to let me get back in the water with both fins as soon as possible!

Best Thresher sighting yet.

Manta Ray eclipsing the sun as it passed overhead (the next few shots I couldn’t get the whole animal in view as it dropped even lower!)

Posted by Lauren Smith on

Surviving Fiesta and Manta Ray Overload 12th May 2010

Surviving Fiesta and Manta Ray Overload!

LOL – Lauren on Location – Eye to eye with a Manta ray

Fiesta’s in the Philippines are usually held to celebrate a patron saint or to mark the passing of a season, different city’s/islands in the Philippines hold fiestas at different times of the year depending on the decisions made by the local Barangay (Christmas being the exception where everyone celebrates together).

One of the boats decorated for the fiesta’s boat parade

The 12th of May marked the only local fiesta of the year on Malapascua Island; I believe this was held in honour of the “Virgin de los Desamparados” the “miracle” of the island and the patron saint of the local people. She appeared as a piece of driftwood that wouldn’t burn, after some time people decided that it was an appearance of the virgin Mary and it was painted and dressed as such, and now resides in the village church. However I must admit that for me the true “miracle” of the Malapascua Island festival was my survival!!! Never have I experienced such displays of local hospitality (otherwise known as outrageous amounts of food and drink), given the expense involved of holding the fiesta for the local people their generosity is unparalleled.

“Lechon” spit roasted pig is the most popular fiesta meal

The fiesta for me began at around 11am when I was presented with a shot of Tanduay Rhum; thankfully we had then been invited to lunch, followed by a sort of late lunch and 2 dinners! Of course each engagement meant more beer than food, the afternoon descended into somewhat of a haze for me I had even stopped noticing the heat (40 degree plus), however I am (somewhat) reliably informed that after taking a bottle of beer (large beasts called Gold Eagle) to our cooks house to thank her for a bottle she had shared with us, we (myself and the rest of the TSRCP crew) left after 15 bottles had been consumed! I was then pretty much finished off with a final shot of Tanduay!

Thankfully in the days following the fiesta I was rewarded with yet more unbelievable dives with the Manta Rays. On one dive I was conducting a fish census, over a cleaning station I was so absorbed in what I was doing that I had not noticed the approaching manta ray, when I looked up I was literally reg to gills with the manta, it was so close that I could see it’s eye watching me! Incredible! The following day we also watched a manta cruising along the edge of the shoal while on a 12m safety stop, a fantastic view which showed how graceful these giants are.
I am currently in Cebu City awaiting the arrival of Gordon my fiancée (- crazy guy!), I cannot wait for him to get out to the Island and begin to experience what I have had the pleasure of so far on this adventure!
Posted by Lauren Smith on

An Update from Lauren May 2010

An Update from Lauren

LOL – Lauren on Location rounded off a fabulous week of diving at Monad Shoal with 2 dives at Gato Island (about 1 – 1 1/2 hrs boat ride N.W. of Malapascua Island) today, which was absolutely incredible, the visibility was particularly good especially on our first dive and the water was like glass.
Managed to see a number of White-tip reef sharks, hanging out under ledges and in caves which was incredible and of course my highlight, however the sheer abundance of soft coral cover was outstanding especially the pulsing coral which was absolutely mesmerizing and definitely had the ability to put me in a trance like state.

Gato Island – a view from the water

The second dive included a cave dive, which was excellent if not somewhat disorientating in the complete blackness, we also saw more white-tip’s including one free – swimming.

Whitetip reef shark

During the week I had enjoyed all sorts of macro life (such as octopus, squid, cuttlefish, scorpionfish, stonefish, lizard fish etc…) as well as 3 of the most impressive elasmobranch visitors to Monad shoal; Thresher Sharks, Devil Rays and Manta Rays.

I had missed the Manta Ray visits the previous week due to my ear infection and was beginning to get desperate for a sighting.

Manta Ray

As we descended for our final dive of the day, I began to make out abstract white shapes in the water; I was puzzled until I realized that the white patches were linked together and formed the absolutely massive body of a Manta Ray estimated at 5m (conservative!) across from wingtip to wingtip! The ability of this behemoth to move so gracefully underwater was fantastic, it held such a presence.

Posted by Lauren Smith on

Sharks, Rays, Visa’s, Ear’s and Woolly Hats April 2010

Sharks, Rays, Visa’s, Ear’s and Woolly Hats

LOL – Lauren on Location – Too much detail around ear infections balanced by some rather nice photos.

A little over a week ago I was starting to get impatient, I had been out of the water for several days due to an infection in my right ear and (more importantly) no longer wanted to wear a woolly hat on the boat to stop the wind aggravating it whilst everyone else was diving, however a trip in to Cebu city was on the cards for me to go and renew my visa, which I thought I may as well combine with a trip to the ENT Doc to try and find a solution to my resounding deafness!

After going to the bureau of immigration and extending my visa (first extension is 38 days and cost me less than 4000 pesos, thereafter I can extend for 2 months at a time), I headed to Dr Gary Rivera’s surgery located at Suite 321, M. Diaz Building, Cor. Don Jose Avila St, Osmena Blvd, Cebu City, with the hope that I could get an appointment. Everyone was brilliant and I just waited in line for my turn to see the Doctor, when I was being seen the first thing Dr Rivera said was “I can’t see your ear drum” after seeing my frown of concern he quickly said “there’s so much residual infection stuck to it I need to suction it out”, after having several alarming metal rods poked in my ear and after swapping to a higher power suction machine I was more than happy to realize that my hearing was greatly improved. I was sent away with some drops to get rid of the remaining stubborn gunk stuck to my ear drum (thank you so much to Dr Rivera and his surgery team, I fully recommend him for anyone requiring an ENT doctor in the Cebu City area).

Once back on the island I was more than happy to be back in the water and being spoilt by visits from numerous Devil Rays and Thresher Sharks and many other critters on the reef, I am really enjoying experimenting with underwater photography, I only have a compact setup (Panasonic Lumix with HD video), but I have been delighted with the images I have captured.

The Thresher Sharks are a challenge as they tend to arrive very early in the morning when the visibility is poor. All images have been taken with the flash turned off so as to minimize the impact and disturbance on the reef life.
Pelagic Thresher Shark

Pygmy Devil ray in full flight over reef

Back in the water – more to come soon !!!!!!!!!!

LOL – Lauren on Location

Posted by Lauren Smith on

Filipino Marine Protected Areas April 2010

Filipino Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

 

LOL – Lauren on Location – Filipino MPA’s

The recent Marine Bills which have been passed in the UK led to an interest in finding out about Marine Protected Areas that have been set up in the Philippines, many thanks to Helen King who took the time to provide me with following overview:

Filipino Fishing Techniques:-

Hooka – Compressor fishing, the compressor sits on the boat / shoreline and connects to a long hose (up to 60m), this allows the diver to stay down for up to 2 hours at a time. Areas are totally cleared of all target species such as large fish like Groupers or Lobsters. Very bad for the health of the fishermen, which when older begin to show signs of lung disease. This is an illegal method, but is still used.

Muro Ami – Fishermen use rocks to bang the reef to scare the fish and to corral them into nets, they also drag the rocks. Extremely destructive, often the children aid in this, again it is an illegal method but is still used.

Dynamite – Obviously devastatingly destructive, dynamite blasts kill and stun the fish for harvesting, evidence is all around including fishermen with missing limbs and the detonations you can hear when SCUBA diving.

Hook and Line – The best method, but because it takes longer and there is a lower yield it is not a popular technique.

Long-lining – Fishermen set-out hundreds of hooks, for target species. Very wasteful with large numbers of by-catch species.

Net Fishing – Net hole regulations are in place, requiring fishermen to have holes of a specific size allowing smaller fish to pass through, however many fishermen will double or even triple net, the larger holed nets will be on the outside but nets with smaller holes in the inside, trapping all sizes of fish.

Cyanide – This is squirted into crevices to stun the fish, too easy to get the quantities wrong so the fish are poisoned and this ends up in the food stream. This is also used to capture fish for the aquarium trade.

Trawl Fishing – Rocks are attached to the base of nets and dragged along the bottom / reef. Extremely destructive.

In the Philippines fish provides 50% of the protein within the diet.

Benefits of Marine Reserves:-

Protection of spawning stock biomass

Provision of a recruitment source for surrounding areas

Supplemental re-stocking of fished areas through emigration

Maintenance of natural population age structure

Maintenance of undisturbed habitat

Protection of intraspecific genetic diversity (larger gene pool for long term species survival)

Insurance against management failures in fished areas

Reduce data collection needs

Simplified enforcement

Ease of public understanding and acceptance of management

Management Approaches:-

Zoning areas for specific practices, this can be awkward fishermen can say they’re confused (hard to see boundaries)

Closure during valuable times e.g.: breeding of certain species, again mistakes by fishermen can occur some are genuine others are on purpose

Alternating periods of use e.g.: allow fishing for a year then close, but fish stocks can take a long time to recover and again people don’t understand if you say yes you can fish and then no you can’t.

Permitted level of use, difficult to monitor every fisherman

Size limits for catch – will fishermen stick to this? Again difficult to monitor

Prohibit / limit equipment and methods, and again difficult to monitor.

So the only effective management approaches have been to permanently close an area, although this can be initially more difficult to be explain and to be accepted, this is the best option as the rules are fixed and thus is easier to monitor.

The MPA selection process is very important, areas are accessed for coral cover, target species (e.g.: lobster), number of invertebrates and fish. Diversity of the coral is considered, and nutrient run-off from land is examined.

Once the MPA is established it will be popular with divers so mooring buoys are put in, this is better than anchors being dropped all over the reef and causing coral damage. The divers also add to the income by paying a fee to dive within the MPA, this currently stands at 100 pesos per diver (approx £1.60) but many divers would pay much more.

MPA Layout:-

There is a central no take zone and then around this there is a buffer zone, where limited hook and line fishing is allowed to take place, the Bantay Dagat (literally meaning Guardian of the Sea) patrol this area. The fishermen are more likely to respect the MPA if they are allowed this are and as the fish get larger and stock sizes increase they spill over from the MPA to the buffer zone, the fishermen will notice this and will understand the MPA is working.

MPA is not a quick solution, 2-3 years is the minimum for fishermen to begin to see fish in the buffer zone, it is extremely important the fishermen understand this. In time the fish will spill out of the buffer zone where any legal fishing can occur.

MPA Fees:-

Fees can differ but in Southern Leyte 20 % goes to the Bantay Dagat for wages

20% goes to the LGU (Local Government Unit) which helps to assist the MPA establishment and subsequent running.

60 % goes to the Barangay note: it is important to setup an MPA council with only 2 members of the Barangay council on. The MPA council employ the Bantay Dagat and make sure the MPA is working, the Barangay council spend the money which is raised by the MPA, but it is monitored by the MPA council and have to show and justify where spending the spending has gone. In turn the Barangay council monitors the MPA council and can ask for progress reports etc…

Social Implications of MPAs:-

Local fishermen have to be on board for the MPA to be a success, to enable this they have to understand this is a long term process, so development of alternate livelihoods is key. So while the MPA is being established things such as craft making is encouraged – jewellery, bowls, wind chimes etc are made out of coconuts and sold to tourists, home gardening is encourage enabling more self sustainability, and local fishermen are employed as Bantay Dagats.

The emphasis is placed on “you are doing this for your children and your children’s children” as the family and community are incredibly important. There is absolutely no point in setting up an MPA without a strong information campaign.

A couple of examples:-

Apo Island, MPA first established in 1982-1986, 11 hectare MPA after 18 years there was a 12 fold increase of large predatory fish outside of the MPA, catch rate increased and fishing effort decreased, massively community based, everyone was involved and as a result it was a huge success.

In contrast Sumilon Island was established in 1974, in 1984 there was a breakdown of management, people thought the fish stocks and reef had recovered, from 1986-2001 the management was unsustainable. From 1974-1984 the average increase in fish yield per year was from 9.7 to 16.8, this reduced to 11.2 from 1984-1986 and from 1986-2001 had gone down to 10.1 and all the live coral had been reduced to rubble.

In conclusion when managed properly and when this management is based on a strong information campaign Marine Protected Areas around the Philippines work and seem the only guaranteed option to preserve the health of the reefs for local communities and visiting divers alike.