|
  |
|
|
Illegal fishing and coral destruction in the Philippines
Conservation in the Philippines Over the past 30 years, coral reefs in the Philippines have been slowly dying. “The most productive reef areas in the world are now known as some of the most endangered,” said a new report.
In 2002, some of the top leading marine scientists ranked the Philippines as the number one - according to the degree of threat - among the world’s top ten coral reef hotspots. The identified hotspots contain just 24 percent of the world’s coral reefs, or 0.017 percent of the oceans.
The World Atlas of Coral Reefs, compiled by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), reported that 97 percent of reefs in the Philippines are under threat from destructive fishing techniques, including cyanide poisoning, overfishing, or from deforestation and urbanization that result in harmful sediment spilling into the sea.
The report has just been confirmed by a survey released by Reef Check, an international organization assessing the health of reefs in 82 countries. “Despite its high biodiversity, the Philippines’ reefs are very badly damaged. It’s one of the worst damaged in the world, on the average,” says George Hodgson, founder of the California based organization.
In 2007, Reef Check stated that only 5 percent of the country’s coral reefs are in “excellent condition.” These 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.
Unfortunately, these natural treasure throves are in danger. “Nowhere else in the world are coral reefs abused as much as the reefs in the Philippines,” deplored marine scientist Don McAllister, who has also done some studies on the cost of coral reef destruction in the country. 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. In the Philippines, an estimated 10-15 percent of the total fisheries come from coral reefs, and about 80 to 90 percent of the incomes of small island communities come from fisheries. “Coral reef fish yields range from 20 to 25 metric tons per square kilometer per year for healthy reefs.
The high demand for exotic tropical marine products abroad which spurred a frenzy of unsustainable harvesting practices in the Philippines in the 1990s also contributed to the degradation of coastal resources. Uncontrolled harvesting of sharks, sea urchins, and sea horses used for their food and medicinal values contributed to almost local extinction of these species in certain fishing grounds. Aquarium fish and certain high-value species of snappers and groupers that need to be exported live so that restaurateurs can display them live (=fresh) before cooking are harvested with the use of cyanide. Cyanide, when squirted into the water to stun the fish, kills coral reef organisms, and this practice has led to the surreptitious destruction of extensive areas of coral reefs. Two main causes are Cyanide fishing – A fishing method in which divers squirt cyanide into the holes and crevices of a reef, poisoning animals for easy capture. To collect the animals, divers break open the reef with crowbars. The cyanide poisons the corals, leaving them dead. Reefs where cyanide was used are left crushed and dead.
Dynamite fishing – A fishing method that uses the blast from dynamite to stun fish and other animals, making them easy to collect as they float, dazed, to the surface. The dynamite also blasts apart the reef, leaving animals without homes. Enough is enough!
|
|
 |
|
Please login or sign up to rate this intel.
Please login or sign up to add a comment.
This is an informative and intersting article. The information definitly needs to be gottenoyt. Well writen !
The copyright for this content entitled "Illegal fishing and coral destruction in the Philippines" has been specified by the contributor as:
All Rights Reserved
This content may not be copied, distributed or adapted by anyone under any circumstances.
|
|
May, 2012
2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2010
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2011
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2012
January, February, March, April, May
|
|
Not a member yet?
Qondio is a powerful network for making it online. If you have a website to
promote, we can help.
Sign up and get in on the action.
|
|
Welcome to Qondio! Discover the awesome power this network can deliver by going to our About page. Or you could skip straight to the Sign Up form.
|
|
