Beached marine mammals: Coral triangle countries to check phenomenon

BusinessWorld 9 Mar 09;

THE ENVIRONMENT department will discuss the recent phenomena of beached marine mammals during the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) meeting in Papua New Guinea this week, the department yesterday said in a press release.

Environment Secretary Jose L. Atienza, Jr., said he would discuss with member countries Timor Leste, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands the abnormal behavior of dolphins and whales.

"We want to understand, as well as pinpoint, the reason why these sea mammals have been acting unusual. We suspect that these are caused by underwater quakes or change in temperature brought about by global warming and climate change," the statement quoted Mr. Atienza as saying.

Schools of dolphins and melon-head whales wanted to get out of the water and beached themselves at the coasts of Bataan province last month and Romblon province the other day.

"We would present this as a major concern why the sea mammals are behaving that way. The moment we are able to determine the major causes [of the peculiar animal behavior], we’ll be able to act in unison," Mr. Atienza said in a separate interview.

The 2.3-million square mile Coral Triangle is home to more than a third of all the world’s coral reefs, hosts about 600 species of reef-building coral, or three-quarters of all known coral species, over 3,000 species of reef fish, and holds nearly the same size of the world’s mangrove species.

Last October, CTI member countries drafted the Regional Action Plan involving high-level leadership and policy reforms, sustainable management of marine resources, and regional and multi-stakeholder partnerships for the protection of the biodiversity-rich area.

The department initially deemed these as effects of dynamite fishing.

However, it also happened in Singapore, which has no recorded activities of dynamite fishing.

Mr. Atienza told Business-World that local communities in coastal areas will be guided on how to react on future cases through literatures and training. — NJCM