Keith Anthony S. Fabro CNN Philippines 4 Nov 15;
Coral experts believe the current El Niño phenomenon triggered bleaching in the famous marine park.
Puerto Princesa (CNN Philippines) — The coral bleaching event in the Tubbataha Reefs National Marine Park (TRNMP) in July recorded no progress after patches of bleached corals were still seen in some of its areas this month.
Angelique Songco, head of the Tubbataha Management Office (TMO), said the news was confirmed to her by a team of experts, who conducted again a coral bleaching assessment at the marine park in October.
The TRNMP is a 97,030-hectare marine protected area (MPA) 150 km southeast of Puerto Princesa City, lying at the heart of the Coral Triangle, the global centre of marine biodiversity.
Coral experts believe the current El Niño phenomenon triggered bleaching in the famous marine park that is home to around 10,000 hectares of corals.
Bleaching — or whitening — of corals happens when they start ejecting the algae (zooxanthellae), the organisms on which they depend not only for food but also for their brilliant colors, according to TMO.
This happens when they get stressed due to hot weather and high water acidity, thus leaving the corals itself undernourished.
In a report posted on its website in September, TMO said bleaching was seen on dive sites called Amos Rock to South Park and in areas around the Bird Islet in the North Atoll.
In the South Atoll, the same signs were observed on Black Rock to Delsan Wreck and also on Jessie Beazley Reef.
“Affected corals were mostly in branching and tabular form and occurs at different depths,” the TMO report said.
Previous assessment showed, of those sites visited, bleaching affects about 0.006 to 0.009 percent of every 25 square meters.
While no progress has been noted yet, Songco said the TMO is still keeping an eye on the possible effect of El Niño to the reef.
The said natural phenomenon is considered to be the strongest one in modern history, and is predicted to last until 2016.
It can be noted that the TRNMP was not spared when the country experienced major bleaching events in 1998 and 2010 El Niño episodes.
But according to the TMO, the corals have recovered well because of its protected status. In 1988, former President Corazon Aquino declared it as a national marine park — the first of its kind in the country.
Bleached corals were mostly in branching and tabular form and occurred at different depths, according to the TMO.
Tubbataha official confident corals will bounce back from El Niño bleaching
Lara Tan CNN Philippines 7 Nov 15;
Puerto Princesa, Palawan (CNN Philippines) — Bleached corals were still seen this November despite the efforts to mitigate El Niño's damaging effects, but the head of the Tubbataha Management Office (TMO) is positive that the coral reefs will recover.
Angelique Songco, head of the TMO, said on Thursday (November 5), that although the agency has no power to control the hot and dry weather, keeping the corals healthy helps in mitigating its effects.
"We are mitigating its effects by keeping the corals strong. Make sure they have a healthy body to resist and fight disease. We can avoid exposing them to human pressure. All we can do is make sure that no one is conducting illegal fishing and other acts that are not consistent with conservation," she said.
Observations revealed that coral bleaching was developing in some areas since last July. Coral experts attributed the bleaching to the El Niño phenomenon experienced across the globe. The phenomenon is seen by weather experts as one of the strongest and is expected to last until 2016.
The bleaching of corals happen when it starts ejecting the algae, the organisms on which they depend not only for food but also for their brilliant colors, said Jeric Dejucos, research assistant at the TMO. As the corals eject the algae, it becomes undernourished. However, the bleaching of corals doesn't mean that it will die immediately.
Songco added that last 2008, around 21 percent of the coral reefs in Tubbataha were also bleached by the El Niño, but when compared to the bleaching in other sites, the corals in the Tubbataha Reefs showed faster recovery.
She attributed the faster recovery to the mitigation efforts and to the geographical location of the Tubbataha Reefs located in the center of Sulu Sea in the municipality of Cagayancillo, Palawan. To reach the reef, you have to travel 10 to 14 hours by sea from Puerto Princesa.
"Kasi nga healthy; we flush it with water. We are in the middle of nowhere. The other parks, which are near the urban areas, there were illegal fishing, people throw garbage, kaya ang tagal mag-recover," Songco said.
The isolation is both a blessing and a curse, she added.
"I am positive it will recover as long as we keep this level of protection, perhaps even increase it because ang challenges dumarami. We will prevail; we have prevailed in the past. Also, we have a new partner, so how can we fail?"
Tubbataha Reefs' ASEAN recognition 'a challenge'
The Tubbataha Reefs National Park was officially launched as the 35th ASEAN Heritage Park (AHP) on Thursday. It is also the first marine park in the Philippines to be part of the AHP.
Songco said that all of the TMOs efforts to protect the Tubbataha Reefs in the last 15 years is paying off with this distinction from the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity.
But she added that receiving the recognition is not merely a title to be paraded, but a challenge to continue protecting marine life.
"The title means that you have to keep it. You have to deserve and continue to prove that you deserve it. You have to continue to be vigilant. It is also a challenge for us to keep doing better," she said.
As part of the AHP, the Tubbataha Reefs will be one of the first in line for available international funding. Other benefits include the promotion of ecotourism and participation in joint research and management, facilitating of information sharing, and the enhancement of the capacity of key stakeholders.
The 97,030 hectares of Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is home to 84 threatened and 97 near-threatened species of marine life.
CNN Philippines' stringer Keith Anthony Fabro contributed to this report.
