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Difference between revisions of "Southern Leyte Province, Philippines"
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Southern Leyte Province, Philippines (view source)
Revision as of 12:24, 9 March 2012
, 12:24, 9 March 2012→Southern Leyte News
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==[[Southern Leyte News]]== | ==[[Southern Leyte News]]== | ||
''' | '''Crown-of-thorns starfish damages coral reefs''' | ||
*Source: http:// | *Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/tacloban/local-news/2012/03/09/crown-thorns-starfish-damages-coral-reefs-210358 | ||
* | *Friday, March 9, 2012 | ||
:by | :by sunstar.com.ph | ||
THE infestation of poisonous crown-of-thorns starfish damaging corals reefs in Southern Leyte’s diving sites has raised alarm among authorities who are blaming climate change and over-collection of the pest predators as the culprit. | |||
In | The regional office of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is now making assessment report after four divers inspected the area last week to check the extent of damage wrought by “noxious” starfish. | ||
Have something to report? Tell us in text, photos or videos. | |||
Justerie Granali, acting BFAR Eastern Visayas director, said the infestation has been noted in Maasin City, and in the towns of Padre Burgos and Macrohon. | |||
“We will provide technical assistance to affected local government units. We have been meeting with local officials to discuss ways on how to eliminate this starfish,” Granali said. | |||
She said there are only two ways to stop the infestation – manual removal of the starfish and underwater injection of sodium bisulfate to the pest. | |||
The official lamented that the growing population of crown-of-thorns has been noted when people overexploited the collection of triton trumpet, the only known predator of adult starfish. | |||
“The sudden change of temperature also attributed to the overpopulation of the number of crown-of-thorns starfish,” Granali said. | |||
In Barangay Mantahan, Maasin City, villagers have removed in their two-day extraction at least 10,000 poisonous starfishes, barangay councilor Jani Arnaiz said. | |||
During last week’s launching ceremony of the Sogod Bay Sustainable Marine Management Alliance, Southern Leyte Governor Damian Mercado said the Provincial Government has allocated P600,000 for the procurement of spear guns, chemicals and finance information drive. | |||
“We plan to add more funding as soon as the detailed assessment is completed by BFAR. We are scheduled to launch the community removal of damaging starfish on March 23,” Mercado said. | |||
The governor said the infestation is a threat to the local tourism industry. | |||
“Each stakeholder should show concern about the crown of thorns starfish situation,” he said. | |||
According to Provincial Administrator Crispin Arong Jr., the infestation has affected the tourism industry and livelihood activities of fisherfolk. | |||
The Southern Leyte provincial tourism office reported that the Sogod Bay has been drawing local and foreign tourists. The bay has four existing dive shops with each shop attracting an average of 200 visitors every month mostly Europeans. | |||
Sogod Bay covers the municipal water of Padre Burgos, Limasawa, Malitbog, Tomas Oppus, Bontoc, Sogod, Libagon, Liloan, San Francisco, San Ricardo, and Pintuyan. | |||
The crown-of-thorns starfishes eat the coral through sucking. A single starfish can eat five to six square meters of coral per year. | |||
This starfish breeds around December to April and each female is capable of producing 60 million eggs per season. It has an average size of about 10 to 20 arms. | |||
==Photo Gallery of Southern Leyte, Philippines== | ==Photo Gallery of Southern Leyte, Philippines== | ||