By Henrylito D. Tacio
(First of Two Parts)
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“Large areas were found with very high live coral cover, up to nearly 100 percent in places, but live coral coverage would have been much higher had there not been heavy dynamite fishing damage in many areas in the past.”
This was part of the written report of Dr. Thomas J. Goreau after he and his team assessed the coral reefs in and around Tubalan Cove of Malita, Davao Occidental in southern Philippines some years back.
“Fish populations were very poor except around promontories with higher water flow,” reported Dr. Goreau, the president of the Global Coral Reef Alliance, a non-profit international organization founded in 1994 working exclusively to save coral reefs. “The area has a mix of prime dive sites suitable for ecotourism, as well as extensively damaged areas badly in need of restoration as fisheries habitat.”
But what amazed the team was finding almost the entire sea bed within the cove to be colony of one species of fragile cabbage corals.
“This is unique,” British diver Andrew MacDonald and his wife Jane Widdison wrote in their report. “We have only seen one species dominate an individual offshore reef before, but have never seen any other ancient coral colonies like this which cover such a large area. It appears that this colony covers an area of several hundred hectares and it is likely that these corals have taken centuries to form like this.
The couple has lived and dived in Mindanao for four years before joining the survey team. According to them, the presence of the ancient cabbage coral colony alone makes Tubalan Cove as “one of the most special and unique places in the world for marine biologists and recreational divers alike.”
“The corals are very varied and colorful – a mixture of soft and hard corals – just what dive tourists like to see,” the husband and wife divers said in their report. “The corals are better in condition and coverage the closer you are to the open sea.”
There’s even more: “Diving amongst the corals of Tubalan cove offers great opportunities for macro (small marine creature) spotting and photography as good as anywhere in the world,” the two divers reported. “We saw several species of small animals that are highly prized by dive photographers.”
Two provinces away from Davao Occidental is Compostela Valley. The province is known for its highlands as it is located in the upper portion of Davao Region. But it has two towns located near the sea: Maco and Mabini.
Interestingly, a new study found out that of the 72 known genera of Scleractinian or “stony” corals identified in the Philippines, about 46 of them can be found in the pristine waters of Mabini. (Around the world, only 110 genera of Scleractinian corals have been identified so far.)
The discovery was one of the initial findings of a study – “Mapping and Assessment of Mabini Protected Landscape and Seascape’s Coral Reef Ecosystem and Associated Reef Fish Community” – conducted by the regional office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
“We have more Scleratinian corals compared to those found in the Island Garden City of Samal and in Davao Oriental,” says Christine T. Dompor, the provincial tourism officer. “There is also one type of coral which the researchers could not identify since it is not found in their list of classification.”
“The (discovery) just shows there is a dearth of information out there and it is becoming a race to get this knowledge before more and more of the marine environment gets destroyed,” deplores Dr. Arnel “AA” Yaptinchay, founder and director of the Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines. “It also confirms again and again, the importance of the Philippines in marine biodiversity.”
Scleractinia, also called stony corals, are marine corals that generate a hard skeleton. They first appeared in the Middle Triassic and descended from the tabulate and rugose corals that barely survived the end of the Permian. Much of the framework of modern coral reefs is formed by Scleractinians.
Both discoveries are located in areas which are part of the Davao Gulf, a key biodiversity area in the country. The World Wildlife Fund considers Davao Gulf as one of the most diverse marine ecosystems in the world. It is the feeding ground for 11 species of cetaceans, which include sperm whales, killer whales, and bottle-nose dolphins. Not only that, it also serves as the nursing ground for endangered marine turtles.
The regional office of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), a line agency of the Department of Agriculture, listed Davao Gulf – which has an area of 308,000 hectares that cuts into the island of Mindanao from Philippine Sea – as one of the biodiversity hotspots in the world.
 Davao Gulf has been identified as one of the five Marine Key Biodiversity Areas (MKBA) that will undergo a project implementation initiated by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The other four are Verde Island Passage, Tañon Strait, Southern Palawan and Lanuza Bay.
 Davao Gulf is home to some of the most exquisite coral reefs in the country. Take the case of those found in the waters of Island Garden City of Samal in Davao del Norte.
According to Carlos R. Munda, Jr., a diving enthusiast and instructor, Samal is “strategically located in one of the most dive-friendly locations in the world.” Although it is relatively unknown outside a small circle of diving enthusiasts, the waters surrounding the island “is a treasure trove of dive sites for every kind of underwater adventure.”
 While the Samal reef gardens display colorful underwater vistas with its treasure of tropical marine life, some of the corals are not in good shape.
 A survey conducted by the Regional Fishermen’s Training Center in Panabo City at Sarangani Bay and Davao Gulf from 1991 to 1992 had shown that most of the shallow or inshore coral reefs “were totally damaged because they are exposed to greater pressure.”
But destruction of coral reefs is rampant not only in Davao Gulf but in other parts of the country as well. In the late 1970s, the East-West Center in Hawaii sounded the alarm. At that time, the study disclosed that more than half of the reefs were “in advanced state of destruction.” Only about 25% of live coral cover were in “good condition,” while only 5% were in “excellent condition.”
Nothing much have changed since then. In fact, 30% of the country’s coral reefs are reportedly dead while 39% are dying. Reef Check, an international organization assessing the health of reefs in 82 countries, identified the coral reefs which are in “excellent condition” are the Tubbataha Reef Marine Park in Palawan, Apo Island in Negros Oriental, Apo Reef in Puerto Galera, Mindoro, and Verde Island Passage off Batangas.
“Nowhere else in the world are coral reefs abused as much as the reefs in the Philippines,” commented Don E. McAllister, who once studied the cost of coral reef destruction in the country.
If the Philippines will not do something now to stop the degradation of coral reefs, it may not have fish to feed its surging population. Studies have shown that a single reef can support as many as 3,000 species of marine life. As fishing grounds, they are thought to be 10 to 100 times as productive per unit area as the open sea.
Unless something is done soon, fish production may to collapse. It seems to be happening in Davao City already. But no one seems to feel it yet.  In the past, Bago Aplaya used to be a haven of fish in the city.  “When I was still younger,” 53-year-old Ronnie Estrera recalled, “we used to catch a lot of fish.  But it’s the case anymore today.”
“We are running out of fish and running out of time. For a country known for marine biodiversity, there are very few fish left to catch,” Vince Cinches, Oceans Campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, was quoted as saying.
“Like the other vital resources such as forests, Philippine fisheries are about to collapse,” deplored Roy C. Alimoane, the director of Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC), a non-government organization based in Davao del Sur.
The collapse of major fishing grounds in the country would mean uprooting 38,000 fishermen each year.  “The fish is getting scarcer,” said a father of six.  “We all have children, grandchildren.  We have to think of the future!” – (TO BE CONCLUDED Photos courtesy of DENR/Christine T. Dompor
