ARTICLE: 'Do not disturb' sign up: Dolphins mating

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'Do not disturb' sign up: Dolphins mating

 

First posted 05:59am (Mla time) June 14, 2005

By Alex V. Pal

Inquirer News Service

 

Editor's Note: Published on page A1 of the June 14, 2005 issue of the

Philippine Daily Inquirer

 

BAIS CITY, Negros Oriental, Philippines -- Ssshh! Marine mammals breeding.

 

Instead of clapping and shouting at the sight of dolphins and whales,

tourists visiting the Tañon Strait to watch the beautiful sea

creatures are advised to remain absolutely quiet.

 

Dr. Lemnuel Aragones explained that dolphins and whales need privacy,

especially during summer, the breeding season for most animals.

 

" Dolphin-watching used to be simple because there were very few boats

involved in its operation, " said Aragones, a Filipino marine professor

at the University of Miami in Florida and at the University of the

Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna.

 

" But there has been an increase in the number of boats in the last

four years. Most of the boats do not know how to maneuver around these

dolphins and whales, " he said.

 

Workshop

 

Aragones and Dr. Edward Keith of the Nova Southeastern University in

Florida were resource persons in a two-day seminar-workshop on whale

and dolphin-watching and the conservation of cetaceans in southern

Tañon Strait.

 

The June 8-9 workshop was sponsored by Bais City, Negros Oriental, and

the SeaWorld Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, a US-based nonprofit

foundation dedicated to wildlife conservation, research, education and

animal rescue.

 

Among those who attended were operators of dolphin and whale-watching

tours, as well as legislators from Bais and Tanjay cities, Manjuyod

town in Negros Oriental province, and from the towns of Ginatilan,

Samboan, Malabuyoc and Alegria in Cebu province.

 

Protocols

 

The seminar aimed to set up guidelines and protocols to ensure that

the dolphins were not disturbed and to come up with suggestions on how

to make dolphin- and whale-watching activities sustainable.

 

" For a long time now, we always clapped our hands and shouted at the

sight of these dolphins and whales. We never realized these creatures

could be intimidated by the sound, " said Bais Mayor Hector " Tata "

Villanueva.

 

" This protocol would really change dolphin- and whale-watching tours

as we know it, " said Bais Councilor Angelo Teves, chair of the city's

environment committee.

 

The tours are a major revenue earner for Bais. From an annual income

of P400,000 five years ago, it now grosses P1.6 million a year, said

city tourism officer Antonio Serrano Jr.

 

Aragones and Keith also revealed findings of their current study,

showing a decline in the number of species sighted in the area in the

last five years.

 

Fishermen's fear

 

Dolphins and whales have been observed to show evasive behavior. " This

could have resulted from disturbance from boats or entanglement with

fishing gear, " Aragones said.

 

He debunked a widespread belief among fishermen that dolphins had

caused the decline in their fish catch.

 

" The overwhelming reason for the decline of fish catch is overfishing

or illegal fishing. Dolphins are not responsible for overeating the

resources, " Aragones said.

 

He said this topic had been discussed throughout the world and the

question that needed to be answered was: " What is the impact of

overfishing on the cetaceans? "

 

Tañon Strait was declared a protected seascape under Presidential

Proclamation No. 1234 issued by then President Fidel V. Ramos. It is

the habitat of 11 of the 24 species of marine mammals found in the

Philippines.

 

The area was to be managed by a Tañon Strait Commission, but the

agency was dissolved in 2001 and has yet to start operations.