Scubasureros in Talikud Island

The Davao Reef Divers Club (DRDC), the longest-running of such associations in the south, held its first club dive of the year last February 19, 2011, at Talikud Island, Samal. According to tradition, the activity was geared towards marine environment protection, and the club’s efforts were backed by businessman and avid diver, Ray de la Paz, and barangay captain Fidencio Matro of Bgy. Sta. Cruz, Island Garden City of Samal.
DRDC president, Oliver “Blogie” Robillo, spearheaded the underwater clean-up activity that focused on a portion of the strait between Samal and Talikud islands. Such scuba diving events are commonly called “scubasurero”. Twenty-eight club members collected more than 100kg of trash, consisting mostly of plastics, cellophane bags, discarded clothing and glass bottles.
After the clean-up dive, the divers were hosted to a luncheon at the Leticia by the Sea resort on Talikud Island by Mr. & Mrs. de la Paz. It was also a chance for the club to interact with the barangay officials. Bgy. Capt. Matro recognized the value of the divers’ contribution, but also acknowledged that the local communities on the island should be more conscious of proper waste disposal.
Talikud Island is home to some of the more popular scuba diving destinations of the island city: Angel’s Cove, Coral Gardens, Dayang Beach, Dizon Wall, to name a few. To be found in these waters are fascinating creatures such as nudibranchs, vibrantly-colored reef fish, and an abundant variety of coral species.
The event was sponsored in part by the resort, Casa Leticia Boutique Business Hotel, and by Carabao Dive Center.
DRDC holds club dives for its members once a month, but scubasurero activities happen more often, as the need for them is becoming more and more urgent. In cooperation with the Carabao Dive Center, the club plans to conduct clean-up dives to collect crown-of-thorns sea stars (COTs), which have recently reached alarming numbers.
This voracious starfish can decimate entire coral colonies in a matter of hours. Robillo reports that at least two dive sites around Talikud Island are now in danger of losing substantial coral cover due to COTs infestation. At the Coral Gardens dive site, several five-square-meter areas were observed to have more than seven starfish in each patch of reef.
Apart from the regular dives, the dive club also holds general membership meetings every second Tuesday of the month. All divers (of any certification level) based in Davao are welcome to join the club. This year, the club plans to conduct skills development seminars, outreach programs, as well as the annual “AquaShots” amateur underwater photography contest.