On the way to the marine reserve park

It was a warm, beautiful Saturday morning when Dr. Arthur Bos and I, together with his wife and two colleagues from the Davao del Norte State College (DNSC), set off for the Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS).

We were on our way to a marine reserve park.

The Park was established in 1994 in Sitio Hagnaya waters within the 200 hectare marine protected area of Barangay Adecor, Kaputian District for “scientific educational research purposes.” It is intended to support management of marine resources and at the same time, conduct research on alternative sources of livelihood for the estimated 382 fishing households of the barangay as well as other barangays in Samal Island.

Having arrived at the shores of Adecor where we were to take a boat ride for the Park, the children started squealing in laughter and singing “Si Felimon, Si Felimon” in reference to Arthur, who apparently sang the Visayan song during a cultural night show last August 2006 with barangay officials. With the children singing and trailing us behind, we took the 5-minute boat ride to the Park.

The DNSC Research Station

At first glance, one sees a bamboo hut standing in the middle of the deep waters. At low tide, however, it is standing in the middle of a sandbar, surrounded by sea grass- or at least what I believe to look like grass in the sea. Little did I know that this was already the marine reserve park cum research station. Going up the precarious wooden steps, one is struck by the simplicity of the hut, with just a long table and a bench serving as its furniture. As we put down our food stock, Arthur, a marine biologist and development worker for DED, gave a rundown of his work with the DNSC personnel. By then, I was already given a pair of black booties to protect my feet from sea creatures that might have any interest on them and asked to “walk through the waters.”

Marine life preservation/propagation steers fisher folks to economic independence

The walk from the hut to the edge of the sandbar took at least 30 minutes as starfishes were collected on the way. The starfishes, varying in colors from a calm deep blue to a fiery orange, were a sight to behold. They were to be measured from its center to the end of each of its five “arms” and later weighed to study their growth and later the development of their gonads. Gonads, in scientific-speak, is the common term for the starfish’ reproductive organs. It refers to the male and female reproductive organs and is the source of both the sperm and egg cells.

Arthur said that “if the gonads are at their heaviest, that is the time of spawning, which tells us in which months they reproduce. They release their eggs and sperm…. the larvae drift with the currents before they settle in an appropriate habitat. And then they grow.” Believed to be a possible source of livelihood for the fisher folks, Arthur’s research team will substantiate the propagation of the starfish and ponder its business potential in the aquarium and ornamental trade.

Working at the beach

Looking for alternative sources of income for the fishermen in the area is just as important as the conservation efforts done in the marine reserve park. Aside from propagating starfish, another proposed source of income for the community is the establishment of a hatchery for aquaculture activities in the area. Fish cages have already been erected near the bamboo hut for the culture of “bangus” and “kitang.” The idea here is to encourage these kinds of business ventures and make it profitable for the fishermen to minimize their dependence on coastal and marine resources. Over the years, marine resources in the area, as with many of the coastal communities in the Philippines, had been intensively utilized. Rehabilitation of degraded resources and conservation efforts continue to be challenged by the locals whose lifeline remains attached to the sea.

Dr. Arthur Bos with a Giant Clam

As I admired the beauty of the sea and the serenity it gives the spirit, I browsed through the photos of underwater marine life that Arthur just took. One of the pictures that struck me, not only because of its size, but also because of the beauty of its colors against the backdrop of the blue sea, was that of the giant clams. Arthur further explained that the stock enhancement of the giant clams in the Davao Gulf continue to be one of the major activities of the research station. Suffering from severe depletion, these mollusks have, for many years, been used as a source of livelihood by the fishermen. Locally known as taklobo, the giant clam shells are sold as decorative accoutrements, while the meat is exported to Japan and prized as a delicacy. In the marine reserve park, these giant clams are kept under the bamboo hut with a net enclosure to serve as protection from fishermen who try to encroach in the area to take the clams and sell in the market.

The Giant Clam

Perhaps the most important conservation effort being done in the marine reserve park is the assessment of existing resources in the marine protected area. Since he started work in partnership with DNSC, Arthur had been tirelessly involved in the documentation of species, to coral transplant and the identification of proposed fish sanctuaries. He is generating a baseline study for different marine species that will serve as reference in educational and research efforts in the marine reserve park. This is the major bulk of his resource assessment work.

As I watch Arthur work,  I am reminded of Mark Harris, the water-breathing human in the 1977 TV show entitled “Man from Atlantis” whereby he belongs more at sea, than among men. And like Dr. Elizabeth Merrill in the same series, I know this ambassador, together with the local fisher folk, will continue to search for alternatives to fishing and at the same time, contribute to the conservation of our precious marine heritage. 

Text: Lucille D Mijares, Journalist
Photos: Dr. Arthur Bos