Restoring Davao Gulf’s endangered coral reefs: A boon for fishing and tourism
By Henrylito D. Tacio
The ecologically-fragile coral reefs serve as a vital resource for fishers in enhancing fish production. In the Davao Gulf, some of these “rainforests of the sea” are experiencing rapid degradation. If these coral reefs are not protected from ongoing destruction, they risk becoming ineffective. Fish populations in this region may face significant decline.
“About 25% of the ocean’s fish depend on healthy coral reefs. Fishes and other organisms’ shelter, find food, reproduce, and rear their young in the many nooks and crannies formed by corals,” explains the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Healthy coral reefs support artisanal and commercial fisheries,” said Diovanie De Jesus, Oceana campaign and science specialist. “Coral reef fisheries such as groupers and lobsters directly rely on the reef for spawning and habitat. Pelagic (open water) fisheries such as sardines and tuna indirectly rely on the reef through the food they consume.”
On how important and vital coral reefs are in fish production, the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) points out: “Polyps of reef-building corals contain microscopic algae called zooxanthellae, which exist with the animal in a symbiotic relationship. The coral polyps (animals) provide the algae (plants) a home, and in exchange the algae provide the polyps with food they generate through photosynthesis.”
Now, the good news. Early this year, the Davao de Oro Provincial Tourism Office launched a marine park, situated at the heart of the Mabini Protected Landscape and Seascape, a terrestrial and marine protected area established in 2000 to protect ecologically significant habitats in Davao Gulf.
The initiative was a collaborative effort of Davao Gulf Divers (DGD), a non-profit organization founded by Noe’s Ark Foundation specializing in coastal and marine conservation in the waters of the Davao Gulf, the municipality of Mabini and the province of Davao de Oro. “(This is) the largest coral restoration project in the Davao Gulf,” the tourism office said.
These are part of the endangered coral reefs of the waters in Mabini. (Davao Gulf Divers)
The marine park encompasses seven hectares along the western coastline of Kopiat Island, which itself covers 87 hectares and is adorned with fruit-bearing coconut trees and various species of mangroves distributed along its periphery.
As part of its inaugural initiative, the organization undertook the restoration of the coral reef ecosystem by reintroducing coral in regions where the coral reefs are in a deteriorated state.
“A coral tree requires 15 divers to plant with four hours of underwater effort,” the tourism office said. “There are around 4,000 corals planted out of the 61 coral trees installed.”
The primary goal, according to the tourism office, is to shape the marine park into a future research hotspot, an eco-tourism destination, and a source of corals for rehabilitating damaged reefs.
The project was reportedly inspired by the Florida Keys, a coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States.
“(The marine park) not only aims to boost the tourism industry but also contributes to the livelihood of local communities – particularly fishermen – by educating them about the dynamics and importance of marine parks and fish sanctuaries,” the tourism office said.
Actually, the replanting program in the area started in 2023. “Since then, notable fish such as barracuda, grouper, octopus, turtles, and more have been spotted around the marine park, and their numbers continue to increase,” the tourism office said. “This suggests a significant improvement in marine life since the coral rehabilitation efforts last year.”
The provincial government of Davao de Oro needs to protect the area. Sometime in 2013, provincial tourism officer Christine T. Dompor sent an information that a study conducted in the waters of Mabini identified 46 of the 72 known genera of Scleractinian or “stony” corals found in the Philippines.
Around the world, only 110 genera of such corals have been identified so far.
One of the stony coral reefs of Mabini (DENR)
The discovery was among the initial findings of “Mapping and Assessment of Mabini Protected Landscape and Seascape’s Coral Reef Ecosystem and Associated Reef Fish Community,” which the regional office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) conducted.
“We have more Scleractinian corals compared to those found in the Island Garden City of Samal and in Davao Oriental,” Dompor said. “There is also one type of coral which the researchers could not identify since it is not found in their list of classification.”
The unique coral reefs are part of the Davao Gulf, a key biodiversity area in the Philippines. 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 but 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.
Over 80% of Davao Gulf’s coral reefs are already degraded, the regional technical director of the environment department reported in 2006. “The coral reefs in almost all areas of Davao Gulf are in bad condition,” the official said.
Only one-fourth of the coral cover was live, manta tow surveys covering 33.8 kilometers of reefs in the gulf showed. Of the 19 areas surveyed, only the corals in Tubalan were in very good condition. Areas with poor values of 10% and below were found in Agdao, Malita and Valez (Toril) in Davao City.
The coastlines of the cities of Panabo and Tagum, recognized for having “the highest densities of fish larvae in the entire gulf,” are similarly affected. According to Harry D. Morris, a British-Filipino marine biologist, “The coral reefs, once teeming with life, are now largely covered.”
He further noted that “What remains are primarily coral skeletons and a few small areas that continue to fight for survival.”
The destruction of coral reefs in Davao Gulf can be partly blamed for the dwindling fish caught in the area. An assessment study of commercially important small pelagic fishes in Davao Gulf by Jose Villanueva and was published in The Philippine Journal of Fisheries showed that commercial fishing contributes to about 88% of the annual average landed catch in the region.
Taken during the launching of the initiative. (Davao Gulf Dives)
In recent years, what used to be a thriving fisheries sector in the region is now grappling with an alarming downturn.
A study entitled “Strengthening Governance and Sustainability of Small-scale Fisheries Management in the Philippines: An Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management Approach in Davao Region” showed there was a general depletion of fishery resources in ten locations surrounding Davao Gulf.
The study looked at the volume and quality of the harvests of 10 commonly fished species in the gulf: matambaka, tamban, moro-moro, caraballas, bilong-bilong, lapu-lapu, danggit, molmol, talakitok, and maya-maya.
Except for maya-maya, the harvest numbers for the species have been falling. At the rate of decline, the caraballas, bilong-bilong, molmol, and danggit may all disappear completely from Davao Gulf within a decade. The matambaka, tamban and moro-moro are more resilient, but even they may disappear within a generation, the study said.
The 2000-2010 study was a collaborative effort of the DA’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), local government units and the regional office of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
Dr. Anthony Sales, DOST regional director, said the declining fish catch made the poor fishers find “other alternative sources of income and better livelihood activities” to make ends meet.
But it’s not only in the Davao Gulf that destruction of coral reefs is ongoing. A survey conducted by the Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines at Diliman showed that nationwide, out of 742 stations monitored, 39 or only 5.3% were still in excellent condition (75-100% live coral cover), 187 or 25.2% could be considered in good condition (50-74% live coral cover), 290 or 39.0% were in fair condition (25-49.9% live coral cover), while the rest, 226 stations or 30.5% were in poor condition (0-24% live coral cover).
“Nowhere else in the world are coral reefs abused as much as the reefs in the Philippines,” commented marine scientist Don McAllister, who once studied the cost of coral reef destruction in the country.
Coral reefs are known as “Eden beneath the waves.” Eden refers to the biblical earthly paradise mentioned in the book of Genesis.
“No natural spectacle can quite match the beauty of a healthy coral reef,” comments Dr. David Hopley, former Australian director of the Sir George Fisher Center at the James Cook University of Northern Queensland.
“Brightly colored and strangely shaped corals teeming with exotic wildlife such as parrot fish, barracuda, sharks, and rare sea turtles. Anyone lucky enough to spend a few hours snorkeling around a tropical reef is unlikely to forget the wonderful experience of gliding silently in this undersea world, eye to eye with myriad shining fish.”
Coral polyps (SeaWeb)
Among the oldest and richest communities of plants and animals, coral reefs may either fringe a land mass (fringing reefs), occur some distance out to the sea (barrier reefs), or be isolated in deep water, forming a ring with a central shallow lagoon (atoll).
Many Filipinos are often unaware that their understanding of corals is primarily based on the dried and bleached remains of soft-bodied marine organisms that inhabit the warm, sunlit waters of tropical oceans. These remains tend to resemble plants or rocks rather than living animals.
The true essence of coral lies in the polyp, a remarkable structure that resembles a flower and is equipped with tentacle-like appendages. Corals belong to the phylum Coeleterata and encompass thousands of species. In the Philippines alone, there are approximately 400 species of corals. These polyps, when grouped together, create limestone formations known as coral reefs.
Coral reefs are so valued because they serve as a center of activity for marine life.In terms of fishing productivity, coral reefs are estimated to be 10 to 100 times more productive per unit area compared to the open ocean.
Fish is the second staple food of Filipinos next to rice. On average, every Filipino consumes about 98.6 grams of fish and fish products, according to the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology.
“Coral reef fisheries provide livelihood for more than a million small-scale fishers who contribute almost US$1 billion annually to the country’s economy,” reports Dr. Alan T. White, author of Philippine Coral Reefs: A Natural History Guide.
In addition, coastal tourism brings substantial economic benefits to the country as it is a source of foreign exchange. The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) reported that in the mid-2000s, tourism generated $16.3 billion, accounting for 9.1% of gross domestic product.
