Punta Fish Sanctuary To Be Converted Into A Memorial MPA

Oct. 28,2011


Punta Fish Sanctuary To Be Converted Into A Memorial MPA
by Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.

Brgy. Punta,San Francisco,Panaon Island,So. Leyte-Dags Jelmar Navarrete of Coral Cay divulged during the recent Saturday that brgy. Punta Fish Sanctuary will be converted into a memorial Marine Protected Area(MPA) either on Dec. 19,2011 or Dec. 19,2012.

The aforesaid date was the time when brgy. Punta in San Francisco,Panaon Island was hit by a massive landslides at about 9:00 p.m.The mudslides caused by continual rains for several days sans forest trees on the mountains but coconut trees, which lack the holding power of absorbing volumes of rain-waters and soil,buried the houses and some were swept away to the open sea.

Although many have died in that catastrophe,there were also those who were missing,of whom some were considered dead.

A notice on a small board showed that the area which was declared as fish sanctuary in June 2009 under ordinance no.128-s-2009 has a total area of 5 hectares core area and 5 hectares buffer zone.

The fish sanctuary from the shoreline is located between 15 to 20 meters away with a deep of 15 meters or more inside its core area.

Navarrete said they have surveyed the place and found some remnants of the victims of the tragedy like roofs,windows,clothes,.umbrellas,doors,bones. While diving inside the newly-declared fish sanctuary they have spotted at a distance a seeming coral reefs.”But when we get closer to t he curious object”,he said,”we found it to be of humans ribs!”

The NGO representative further informed the area was qualified to be under the category of Marine Protected Area due to the presence of its coral reefs.

He implied that Punta fish sanctuary's eventual conversion into a memorial MPA in the near future is not a new thing. An oceanic are in Camiguin Province where the human cemetery can be clearly seen beneath the sea was also proclaimed as a memorial place. Its sinking was believed to have occurred several decades ago when Mt. Hibokhibok in Camiguin had erupted.

Navarrete also explained that by proclaiming Punta Fish Sanctuary as a memorial MPA,poachers and illegal fishers would give due respect and would avoid catching fish inside the sanctuary.

Fish Scarcity
Punta Barangay Captain Benny Deloso in an interview with the press told the group that fish in their area has become so scarce because of over fishing and the use of “buso”,a common method employed by illegal fishers allegedly from Surigao province.

At the start of reviving the stock of fishes in their barangay waters,he said,only few people at first have given their support.”Later on when the barangay folks understand our purpose”,he said,”more people have turned to show their full support. Some have even volunteered to guard the fish sanctuary”.

He disclosed that nobody has dared to catch fish inside the sanctuary for violators would heavily be fined.Nonetheless, fishermen were allowed to catch fish within the 5 hectares buffer zone.

Deloso revealed that after two years of the sanctuary's existence different kinds of fishes are now found inside it like parrot fishes, clown fishes, surgeons,sulid,andayaw,wapay, and other fishes.

Navarrete who was a RARE Conservation scholar at the Georgetown University in Washington,DC,USA having a master's degree in Development Communication admonished the fisher-folks in particular and the barrio people in general that they should take care of their fish sanctuary.”We will not be staying here permanently”,he stressed. “We would be gone soon”.

The Barangay Captain further confided t hat on that day of the Pride launching campaign a fisherman in their place was able to catch 60 kilos of different fish species.

Earlier,there was a parade participated in by some barangay officials,some volunteer folks and students,led by Navarrete and the10-member team of the LIVE(Legacy of Independent Volunteer for Environment) who assisted him in his endeavor,down to the location of the Fish Sanctuary.In the evening there was a concert organized by the local bands from Maasin City,which is about 125 to 130 kilometers away.

Later on the day election of officers and the organization of fisher-folks were likewise being conducted by Navarrete and his group of volunteers “so that in the future they(the fisher-folks) will also become stakeholders...”(Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.)