'Whale’s death in Manila Bay indicates grim problem'

GMA News TV 2 Jan 09;

MANILA, Philippines - The death of a whale in Manila Bay earlier this week may not be an isolated case but a sign of serious environmental problems, according to a leader of an ecological group.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Philippines vice chairman Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan said the death shows the urgency to address climate change that was blamed for the whale's death.

"Uncommon as it may seem, the event may not be an isolated occurrence ... The world is changing. Maybe, these dead whales in Manila Bay are delivering a bigger message. Maybe, it is time we think really hard about what each of us is doing to this planet, and make up our minds to do something right," Tan said in an article on the WWF Web site, www.wwf.org.ph.

He said both whales and human beings make an impact on the marine ecosystems they depend on for food and life, especially since both live on a water planet at the apex of the Coral Triangle.

More than just saving whales or dolphins, it is time to think about the life and productivity of our oceans and coasts, according to Tan.

He said it is time to think of how to regenerate the forests cut down over the last century, leaving bare mountainsides that now spawn the soil erosion that silts rivers and blankets reefs in coastal zones of death.

It is also time to think of finding substitutes for persistent toxins that leach from our factories, plantations, offices or homes, and bio-accumulate in fish, he added.

People should also look for more effective ways to manage and replace the tons of plastic waste thrown into the sea every day, he said.

"We really have to be seriously thinking about a change of lifestyle," he said.

Earlier this week, the body of a baleen whale was found floating beside a passenger ship along Manila Bay's Pier 13. It was brought to and buried in Dagupan City's fish cemetery.

Tan said that in August 2007, another carcass of a baleen whale was found floating at the mouth of Manila Bay. Bloated and badly decomposed, the whale was towed ashore to an isolated cove in Nasugbu town in Batangas province. After photographs and all possible records were obtained, the whale was buried by a team from the Hamilo Coast with the assistance of WWF.

"Due to the condition of the animal's body, and local concerns about possible health impacts of a large decomposing carcass on the coastline, it was difficult to conduct a proper necropsy at the time. As such, the cause of death for the 2007 animal was not determined," he said.

Tan also said data on contaminants remain insufficient for now, but cited a case of a Longman's beaked whale, one of the least studied of all whales, stranded and died on a Davao beach.

He said that during its necropsy, a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources team that removed the whale’s internal organs found plastic bags in its stomach. - GMANews.TV

Whale buried in Dagupan fish cemetery
Yolanda Sotelo-Fuertes, Philippine Daily Inquirer 31 Dec 08;

DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines—It was a sad ending for 2008 for fishery officials and conservationists, who had to bury an almost 10-meter long whale at the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources' fish cemetery here on Wednesday.

About 100 people who attended the burial were awed by the sheer size of the whale, which had been sawed into several hefty chunks.

The whale measured 9.8 meter long and weighed from 2.5 to 3 tons. It was named Roxanne by reporters and BFAR personnel in honor of 2009 as the Year of the Ox in the Chinese calendar.

Those who witnessed the burial could not help but lament the demise of another gentle sea mammal as they watched its parts being brought down, chunk by chuck, by a big boom truck into a grave.

It took almost three hours to bury the whale at a corner of the 1,000-square meter fish cemetery. It was the 15th sea mammal and the biggest so far to be buried there.

Dr. Westly Rosario, BFAR Center chief, said the sea mammal's species has not yet been verified although it has features of either the Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostata) or the Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera edeni).

"It is only through DNA tests by which we can determine the species," he said, adding that it was the first time that such kind of whale was seen in the country.

The whale was found floating near the bow hull of a SuperFerry passenger ship at the South Pier 13 in Manila Bay on December 29.

Rosario said the whale could have been dragged by a ship to the harbor. Based on its necropsy, the whale could have drowned, he said

"Sea mammals need to breathe. When put into a canister with preservative solution, their lung tissue sinks, so this whale most probably drowned," he said.

Lung tissue should float if the mammal did not drown, he added. Whales breathe through their nostrils called blow holes, and their lungs.

The necropsy also showed that the whale's stomach was empty and there was not a piece of plastic found there. Whales and dolphins usually die after accidentally swallowing plastics.

Clean up Manila Bay, Supreme Council tells government
Norman Bordadora, Philippine Daily Inquirer 19 Dec 08;

MANILA, Philippines—Nothing less than the revival of Manila Bay in all its glory and splendor will appease the Supreme Court.

In an en banc unanimous decision, the high tribunal on Thursday directed the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and six other government agencies to undertake a coordinated cleanup, restoration and preservation of the bay.

“To most of these agencies and their official complement, the pollution menace does not seem to carry the high national priority it deserves, if their track records are to be the norm,” said the 36-page decision penned by Justice Presbitero Velasco.

“Their cavalier attitude toward solving, if not mitigating, the environmental pollution problem is a sad commentary on bureaucratic efficiency and commitment,” the court said.

Earlier decisions of the Regional Trial Court in Imus, Cavite, and the Court of Appeals that required the agencies to undertake specific tasks that would lead to the coordinated clean up of Manila Bay were upheld.

The environment department was directed to fully implement its strategy for coastal rehabilitation and restoration.

The Department of Interior and Local Government was told to ensure all homes and establishments along river systems in Metro Manila, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga and Bataan have wastewater treatment facilities or hygienic septic tanks.

The MMDA and the Department of Public Works and Highways were ordered to dismantle all structures and encroachments on rivers, waterways and esteros leading to the basin.

Other agencies called to undertake the cleanup were the departments of education, health, agriculture, budget and management, Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine National Police.

Not yet too late

“The importance of the Manila Bay as a sea resource, playground and as a historical landmark cannot be overemphasized,” the decision read. “It is not yet too late in the day to restore the Manila Bay to its former splendor and bring back the plants and sea life that once thrived in its waters.”

Manila Bay is best known for its spectacular sunsets. The poor frolic in its murky waters in spite of the garbage and filth, specially during summers.

On Jan. 29, 1999, concerned residents of Manila filed a civil case against the government agencies, claiming that the water quality of the bay has fallen below the standards of the country’s environment code.

The residents said that the agencies’ neglect of the bay also constituted a violation of their constitutional right to life, health and a balanced ecology and 10 environmental protection statutes.

The agencies appealed to the high tribunal earlier setbacks in the lower courts, saying the environment code only relates to the cleaning of “specific pollution incidents” and not cleaning in general.

Prescription for revival

They also argued that the cleaning of the bay wasn’t a ministerial act of petitioners that can be compelled by the court.

In its decision, the tribunal sided with the Manila residents and enumerated requirements to make the bay teem again with marine life.

As mandated by Republic Act No. 9275 on water quality management, the court directed the Manila Waterworks and Sewerage System to provide the necessary water treatment facilities in Metro Manila, Rizal and Cavite.

The Local Water Utilities Administration was directed to provide sewerage and sanitation facilities in the provinces of Laguna, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga and Bataan.

The agriculture department was called upon to assist local government units in Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga, Bulacan and Bataan in restoring fisheries and aquatic resources in the bay.

The Philippine Coast Guard and PNP Maritime Group were instructed to apprehend violators of laws in connection with marine pollution such as the discharge of solid and liquid wastes and other ship-generated wastes in Manila Bay.

The education department was ordered to come up with lessons on pollution prevention and the budget department to allocate a budget for all the undertakings.