Saving Tañon Strait

By Henrylito D. Tacio
Atty. Ingemar Macarine is the only Filipino who is consistently swimming in open waters and in areas not yet swam.  He is also a pioneer in solo channel swimming in the country.  It’s no wonder why media called him “Pinoy Aquaman,” the Filipino counterpart of the fictional superhero appearing in American comic books. 
“I have successfully swum the Tañon Strait twice,” the lawyer from Surigao told me.  The first time was from Bantayan Island to San Remigio in Cebu.  For his second stint, he crossed the strait from Santander in Cebu to Sibulan in Negros Oriental.
Why I am writing this?  It’s because I received an electronic mail from my friend, Arvin Yana, inviting me to attend a press conference that “would tackle current issues and the future of the Tañon Strait.”
Yana used to be a resident of Davao City.  But after graduating from one of the best universities in Australia, he moved to Manila, where he works now.  Just recently, he joins Rare, where he serves as manager of communications and events. 
Rare is a global conservation organization that specializes in behavior change and helps communities reduce threats to natural resources through its Pride Campaigns. It has worked with 37 coastal municipalities in the country since 2010.
Leaders from 17 coastal cities and municipalities from three provinces along the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape reportedly signed the Memoranda of Agreement (MOA) with Rare as part of the Marine Key Biodiversity Areas (MKBA) Project of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) under the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) and Global Environment Facility (GEF), respectively.
Those who signed the MOAs with Rare were the towns of Alegria, Aloguinsan, Badian, Bantayan, Ginatilan, Moalboal, Samboan, Santa Fe, San Remigio, and Santander in Cebu; Amlan, Bais City, Guihulngan City, La Libertad, and San Jose in Negros Oriental; and Calatrava and Toboso in Negros Occidental.
My source said that Tañon strait separates the islands of Cebu (east) and Negros (west).  It extends from the Visayan Sea on the north to the Bohol Sea on the south. Its width varies from 3 to 17 miles (5 to 27 km), with the narrowest point in the south. In the north the strait is closed off by the Don Islands, the largest of which is Bantayan. The cities of Bais (Negros) and Toledo (Cebu) have deepwater port facilities.
In 1998, during the time of the presidency of Fidel V. Ramos, the Tañon Strait was declared a protected seascape under Proclamation No. 1234 of 1998.  It was declared as such because of its extraordinary abundance and diverse assemblage of dolphins, whales and other marine species.
According to a feature published by Rappler, the Tañon Strait is the country’s biggest marine protected area covering 521,018 hectares. It is 5 times larger than the more famous Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, which is only 97,030 hectares.
“Because of its size, Tañon Strait encompasses smaller but better known protected areas including the popular diving sites in Moalboal, Malapascua, Bantayan Island, Pescador Island, Mantalip Reef and more,” Rappler said.
But “despite being the country’s biggest marine protected area, it has been threatened by decades of overfishing, pollution, and burgeoning human population,” according to Yana in a statement released to the press.
The five-year project aims “to strengthen the marine protected areas in the country to conserve critical marine animals and habitat by improving the management of marine protected areas (MPAs), provide link to financial sustainability, and create a harmonious policy both at the local and national levels.”
Aside from Tañon Strait, other sites that will undergo such kind of project are Verde Island Passage, Southern Palawan, Lanuza Bay, and Davao Gulf.
Davao Gulf, with an area of 308,000 hectares, cuts into the island of Mindanao from Philippine Sea. The World Wildlife Fund considers Davao Gulf as one of the most diverse marine ecosystems in the world.  Diverse coral reefs, different mangrove species, cetaceans and a host of invertebrates contribute to the natural diversity of the gulf.
Davao Gulf is Southern Mindanao’s fishing ground.  In fact, it is the 10th major fishing ground in the country.  Whoever is implementing the project here, the author still doesn’t know.
Rare Philippines, the project’s implementation partner for Tañon Strait, also launched the Fish Forever Flex (F3), an alternative model of delivering Rare’s Fish Forever global strategy on sustainable fisheries management.  F3’s rollout in Tañon Strait is also supported by New York-based Bloomberg Philanthropies through its Vibrant Oceans Initiative (VOI).
Through F3, the 17 local government units are provided with technical assistance and capacity building to achieve effective and sustainable protected area and fisheries management.
“Our conservation work with our partners in Tañon Strait is even more meaningful as it is the only site under the MKBA project that is a National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) area,” pointed out Rocky Sanchez Tirona, Rare’s Vice President for the Philippines.
“Through this project, we aim to create a community of responsible fishers, protected area managers and enforcers, communities, civil society, and local and national government officials,” Tirona added.
Why is there so much ado about the Tañon Strait?  For one, there are 14 species of dolphins and whales in the strait, according to the Rappler. “That’s almost half of the 27 species of dolphins and whales in the entire Philippines. It is home to spinner dolphins, dwarf sperm whales, pygmy killer whales and spotted dolphins,” it reported.
More information: The rare chambered nautilus, giant diamond-backed squid and critically-endangered dugong can also be found in its waters.
Also, you can find 70 species of fish, 20 species of crustaceans, 26 species of mangroves, and 18,830 hectares of coral reef at the Tañon Strait. (Photos courtesy of Rizza Sacra/MKBA)