Story: ELMER RECUERDO
Photo: OCEANA
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TACLOBAN CITY – The continued delay in the passage of a law designating Panaon Island as protected areas under the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (ENIPAS) Act is putting a strain on the remaining biodiversity due to illegal fishing.
Panaon Island – which comprises the municipality of Liloan, San Francisco, Pintuyan and San Ricardo in Southern Leyte – is one of the priorities for conservation of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) under the country's 30x30 target.
DENR targets at least 30 percent of terrestrial, inland water, and of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services for protection, by the year 2030.
A series of consultation workshops facilitated by Oceana from April to August 2024 with the fisherfolk, local barangay leaders, academe, and other stakeholders of the Panaon Island showed that illegal fishing remains the significant stressor to marine biodiversity in the area.
Panaon Island is a rich source of seafood and marine resources that the locals rely on for their food, nutrition, and livelihood through sustainable tourism activities. However, different forms of illegal fishing activities, particularly compressor fishing and night spearfishing, were identified as significant stressors during the workshops. These activities disrupt breeding cycles, deplete vulnerable populations and push endangered species closer to extinction.
"Night spear fishing and the use of compressors by fishermen from Surigao are major issues as well because some of them use poison. This causes significant damage to coral reefs and other marine life. If this situation continues, we fishermen in Panaon will really struggle with our livelihood, as we rely solely on the sea," says Raul Cordova, barangay captain of Son-ok 1, Pintuyan.
The coral reefs of Panaon Island are part of one of the '50 Reefs' initiative, a global effort that identifies and prioritizes 50 critical reef sites that are most resilient to the impacts of climate change, underscoring its importance to marine conservation.
An expedition led by Oceana in 2021 found its coral reefs with up to 60 percent of very good coral cover, way above the national average of around 20 percent. Additionally, the part of Panaon Island in Sogod Bay was identified as a Marine Key Biodiversity Area due to the presence of exceptional but endangered marine biodiversity such as whale sharks and sea turtles.
However, Typhoon Odette in the same year caused significant damage to these reefs, exacerbated by different forms of illegal fishing activities that continue to threaten their recovery and overall marine health.
"We are looking forward to the upcoming approval of the bill that will unify and declare Panaon Island as a protected seascape," Pintuyan Mayor Ricarte Estrella said. "This will significantly help alleviate the persisting challenges in implementing regulations for marine protected areas and encourage the participation of locals—particularly the coastal barangays that can be resource managers."
Currently, 11 Protected Area bills including that of the Panaon Island Protected Seascape are still pending approval in the Senate.(CJ/jmm/ER)
Calbayog Journal, September 16, 2024
Photo: OCEANA
-------------------INSERT PHOTO 1
TACLOBAN CITY – The continued delay in the passage of a law designating Panaon Island as protected areas under the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (ENIPAS) Act is putting a strain on the remaining biodiversity due to illegal fishing.
Panaon Island – which comprises the municipality of Liloan, San Francisco, Pintuyan and San Ricardo in Southern Leyte – is one of the priorities for conservation of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) under the country's 30x30 target.
DENR targets at least 30 percent of terrestrial, inland water, and of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services for protection, by the year 2030.
A series of consultation workshops facilitated by Oceana from April to August 2024 with the fisherfolk, local barangay leaders, academe, and other stakeholders of the Panaon Island showed that illegal fishing remains the significant stressor to marine biodiversity in the area.
Panaon Island is a rich source of seafood and marine resources that the locals rely on for their food, nutrition, and livelihood through sustainable tourism activities. However, different forms of illegal fishing activities, particularly compressor fishing and night spearfishing, were identified as significant stressors during the workshops. These activities disrupt breeding cycles, deplete vulnerable populations and push endangered species closer to extinction.
"Night spear fishing and the use of compressors by fishermen from Surigao are major issues as well because some of them use poison. This causes significant damage to coral reefs and other marine life. If this situation continues, we fishermen in Panaon will really struggle with our livelihood, as we rely solely on the sea," says Raul Cordova, barangay captain of Son-ok 1, Pintuyan.
The coral reefs of Panaon Island are part of one of the '50 Reefs' initiative, a global effort that identifies and prioritizes 50 critical reef sites that are most resilient to the impacts of climate change, underscoring its importance to marine conservation.
An expedition led by Oceana in 2021 found its coral reefs with up to 60 percent of very good coral cover, way above the national average of around 20 percent. Additionally, the part of Panaon Island in Sogod Bay was identified as a Marine Key Biodiversity Area due to the presence of exceptional but endangered marine biodiversity such as whale sharks and sea turtles.
However, Typhoon Odette in the same year caused significant damage to these reefs, exacerbated by different forms of illegal fishing activities that continue to threaten their recovery and overall marine health.
"We are looking forward to the upcoming approval of the bill that will unify and declare Panaon Island as a protected seascape," Pintuyan Mayor Ricarte Estrella said. "This will significantly help alleviate the persisting challenges in implementing regulations for marine protected areas and encourage the participation of locals—particularly the coastal barangays that can be resource managers."
Currently, 11 Protected Area bills including that of the Panaon Island Protected Seascape are still pending approval in the Senate.(CJ/jmm/ER)
Calbayog Journal, September 16, 2024
