The Municipalities of Moalboal and Badian border the waters of the Tañon Strait which has national protection under the National Integrated Protected Areas System.
Expedition Location
In 2019, the SPR expedition was conducted in the Municipalities of Moalboal and Badian, Cebu Province, Philippines. The Municipalities of Moalboal and Badian border the waters of the Tañon Strait which has national protection under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) (Dolar et al 2006; Tiongson and Karczmarski 2016). Moalboal is one of the premiere dive destinations in the southern Philippines and currently has four locally declared and managed marine sanctuaries where a user-fee system operates to generate income for the local communities and the municipality. Badian town, just south of Moalboal is a popular tourist destination that boasts white-sand beaches and other natural attractions. It has five locally declared MPAs. Figure 1. SPR 2019 group photo with the expedition research volunteers and CCEF staff.
Expedition Purpose
The aim of the expedition was to determine the coral reef condition within the marine sanctuaries and their adjacent fishing grounds. The data collected was used to compare monitoring data collected by CCEF and the local community in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2013 using similar methods. The expedition results will be used as supplementary information that can help support the current management of marine sanctuaries and indicate the effectiveness of protection from illegal fishing and improper tourism activities in the area.
2019 SPR Moalboal Expedition Team
What data was collected?
The dive volunteers and staff collected the following information:
Percent bottom cover of living coral
Percent bottom cover of non-living reef substrates (e.g. rock, rubble, sand, dead coral)
Percent bottom cover of other living substrates (e.g. seagrass, algae, sponges)
Fish species diversity per unit area
Total number of fish individuals per unit area
Total number of fish species on the reef
Number of indicator species per unit area (e.g. butterflyfish, giant clams, lobsters, Triton shells, Crown-of-thorns seastars and others)
Presence of large marine life (e.g. sharks, manta rays, Bumphead wrasses, sea turtles,
whales and dolphins, and others)
Causes of coral damage
Presence of visitors of intruders in the area
Effectiveness of management protection in the area
All the data collected on this trip was summarised in the following report and disseminated to all interested parties in the Philippines and elsewhere. It is helping guide and improve management efforts and give us all an indications of the condition of the reefs in Tubbataha Reef Natural Park, Sulu Sea, Philippines
The Results
The team composed of 11 international Expedition Research Volunteers together with the staff of Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation (CCEF) revisited six sites in the Municipality of Moalboal and the Municipality of Badian in Cebu. Data such as the substrate cover, which includes the cover of living and non-living substrates, and the abundance, density, and biomass of fishes in the area.
Underwater surveys were conducted last May 7-13, 2019 in shallow and deep areas of the reef using systematic snorkeling surveys and SCUBA surveys using Point Intercept Transect (PIT) method. Classification of the coral reef status in the survey sites was based on the categories set by Gomez et al. (1994). The overall live hard coral (LHC) cover in the MPAs of Moalboal and Badian ranges from fair (25-49%) to good (50-74.9%). In the Municipality of Moalboal, Pescador MPA has the highest LHC cover of 60.3 SE ±7.2% followed by Saavedra MPA (54.2 SE ±4%) and Basdiot MPA (54 SE ±10%). For the two MPAs surveyed in the Municipality of Badian, the LHC cover of Lambog and Zaragosa MPAs were 54.3 SE ±2.2% and 44.2 SE ±3.9%, respectively. The shallow areas of the MPAs in Moalboal and Badian are all in fair condition. Overall, there is a significant increase in the LHC cover in most sites surveyed compared to the results from 2013.
Fish surveys were conducted using a 50 x 10m Underwater Visual Census (UVC) survey. Classification of fish densities followed that of Hilomen et al. (2000), where values were computed for 1000m2 area. Basdiot MPA had the highest fish density with 3413.5 SE ±222 ave. fish/500m2 of all the MPAs surveyed in the Municipalities of Moalboal and Badian. This was followed by Pescador and Saavedra MPAs with an average fish density of 2867.5 SE ±588 ave. fish/500m2 and 1651.8 SE ±385 ave. fish/500m2, respectively. For fish biomass, Basdiot MPA had the highest with 21.72 kg/500m2 followed by Pescador (15.2 kg/500m2) and Tuble (9.2 kg/500m2). Overall, there is a significant decrease in the species richness, density, and biomass in all MPAs surveyed.
Based on the results and observations from the data gathered, several recommendations which include the (1) review or re-evaluation of the coastal resource management in these areas, (2) continue monitoring for sustained management, (3) need to improve and sustain coastal fisheries law enforcement, and (4) increased information, education, and communication efforts were given to further enhance conservation of MPAs in these municipalities due to the decreasing density and biomass of fish observed.
In conclusion, one can only notice that Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park continues to be a proud legacy of the Tubbataha Management Office and its Park Rangers. As an important and rich marine resource, it continues to lend hope to the Philippines in sustaining food security and increasing eco-tourism. The Saving Philippine Reefs team is confident that the dedicated individuals behind the protection of TRNP will continue to stay inspired and motivated with these results. It is important to maintain and improve efforts in patrolling, education, and research to maintain the already resilient protected area to overcome future challenges.
Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the management and sustainable use of Philippine coastal resources through active leadership and participation of coastal communities and stakeholders. Driven by its passion to create sustainable coasts and actively engage communities, CCEF develops and disseminate tools, techniques and research for better marine management, while promoting integrated coastal management approach that includes marine protected areas (MPAs) localized law enforcement and other participatory best practices.
