SORSOGON BAY Province of Sorsogon CY 2014
INTRODUCTION
The province of Sorsogon on the north extends westward from 123° to 124° east longitude and on the north-south axis from 12° to 13° north latitude. Forming a triangular shape, it is bounded on the north by the province of Albay and Albay Gulf; on the south by Samar and San Bernardino Strait; on the east by Pacific Ocean and on the west by Burias Island and Ticao Pass.
Sorsogon has an area of 2,141.44 square kilometers or 214,144.86 hectares. It lies at the southeastern tip of Luzon Island and is located about 600 kilometers southeast of Manila. About 88 percent of 145, 649 has are classified as agricultural land planted to temporary crops (26, 084 has), permanent crops (115, 475 has), fishponds (1, 197 has0 and pasture grazing lands (2, 929 has). Of the total land area devoted to crops, irrigated ricelands register the highest area coverage of 13, 858 has. followed by raindfed Riceland with 7, 137 has. and leafy fruits and legumes, rootcrops and corns covers a total land area of 5, 053 has. Coconut covers about 100, 700 has of land followed by abaca with a total 10, 942 has area planted. Fruit trees/nuts and coffee covers an area of about 3, 508 has and 325 has, respectively. Public land comprises of national parks, forest, bareland and shrubland. It covers an aggregate area of 51, 572 has and it is 24.1% of the total land area. other land use includes the built-up areas with a total land area of 9, 150 has and miscellaneous land use of 7, 774 has. Thirteen (13) municipalities dot the 336 kilometers long coastline, which stretches from the northern portion of Sorsogon City (Bacon District area) to the municipalities of Prieto Diaz, Gubat, Barcelona, Bulusan, Sta. Magdalena and Matnog, which faces the Pacific Coast. The towns of Bulan, Magallanes, Pilar and Donsol are found on the western side while Casiguran, Castilla and the southwestern portion of Sorsogon City lie along the shores of the semi-circular Sorsogon Bay.
The urban area embraces seventy five barangays in the entire province of Sorsogon. Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) 2010 report, a total urban land area of 15 977.00447 hectares and a total urban population of 169, 790. These seventy five barangays account for nearly or almost one fourth or 23% of the total population (2010) and a net population density of 11 persons per hectares which is thirty one times of the province’s density. Urban area has a variety of lans uses dominated by residential, commercial, institutional, industrial, infrastructure and utilities and open spaces like parks and other recreational areas.
Sorsogon Bay is situated in the southern part of the Bicol Peninsula. Its area is approximately 201 sq. km., bounded by longitudes 123° 50’ and 124° 0’ East and latitudes 13° 0’ and 13° 5’ North. It opens to a narrow channel leading to Ticao Pass. The bay is generally shallow with depths ranging from 0.25 fathom to five fathoms. The deeper portion is located at the mouth of the bay with depths of 5.5-16 fm. However, there are areas with sandy bottom and some with coarser sediments. Incarizan River is the major tributary draining into Sorsogon Bay (Olaño, V., Vergara, M., Gonzales, F., Assessment of the fisheries of Sorogon Bay (Region 5).
The waterbody has also been used as fishing ground of its community and for navigation. The presence of Sorsogon City port within the area allows transportation of the community from the mainland to other islands.
DESCRIPTION OF SAMPLING STATIONS AT SORSOGON BAY
A. Location of Sampling Stations for Water Quality Monitoring
The DENR-EMB V had established sampling stations for water quality monitoring. Figure 1 show the twelve (14) sampling stations established according to its accessibility and strategic locations:
Table 1. Identified Sampling Stations
STATION GEOGRAPHICAL STATION IDENTIFICATION NO. COORDINATES Approximately 800 meters from Sorsogon City Pier and approximately 1 12° 27’ 48.4” N 1 km from Salog River, Brgy. Sirangan, Sorsogon City 124° 00’ 54“ E Approximately 1 km from Balogo Creek and Buhatan River, boundary of 12° 57’ 59.1” N 2 Brgy. Balogo and Cabid-an, Sorsogon City 12° 01’ 22.6“ E 12° 56’ 57.9” N 3 Approximately 1 km from Abuyog Creek, Brgy. Abuyog, Sorsogon City 124° 01’ 50.6 “ E Approximately 1 km from Sta. Cruz River, Brgy. Rizal, Casiguran, 12° 53’33.9 ” N 4 Sorsogon 124° 00’ 56.2“ E Approximately 1 km from Cadacan River, Brgy. Catanagan, Juban, 12° 53’ 51.6” N 5 Sorsogon 123° 58’ 40.7“ E Approximately 900 meters from Sabang Beach and Pulangdula River, 12° 52’ 56.7” N 6 Brgy. Carohayon, Juban, Sorsogon 123° 56’ 36.6“ E
Approximately 200 meters from Dibughan Island, Brgy. Bonga Castilla, 12° 53’ 58.3” N 7 Sorsogon 123° 51’ 42.8“ E Approximately 400 meters from Bantaron Island, Brgy. Tomaylaytay, 12° 52’ 22.0” N 8 Castilla 124° 49’ 46.8“ E 12° 51’ 53.0” N 9 Approximately 800 meters from Brgy. Quirapi, Castilla, Sorsogon 123° 46’ 56.9“ E Approximately 1 km from Dulangan River, Brgy. Bagalayag, Castilla, 12° 56’ 40.7” N 10 Sorsogon 123° 53’ 11.5“ E Approximately 1 km from Dumagdagan River, Buenavista, Sorsogon City 12° 57’ 48.6” N 11 and 2 km from Poblacion, Castilla 123° 53’ 53.9“ E Approximately 700 meters from Cawayan River, Brgy. Gimaloto, 12° 57’ 02.5” N 12 Sorsogon City 123° 56’ 58.7“ E Approximately 4 km from Sta. Cruz, Casiguran, Sorsogon. Center of 12° 54’ 58.2” N 13 Station 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 12 123° 59’ 44.1“ E Center of Station 5, 6, 7, 10 and 11 and adjacent to Station 13 and 12° 54’ 27.3” N 14 approximately 3 km from Sablayan Island, Juban, Sorsogon 123° 55’ 56.5“ E
Figure 1. Map of Sorsogon Bay with Sampling Stations
Photo 1. Sampling Station 1 Photo 2. Sampling Station 2 Photo 3. Sampling Station 3
Photo 4. Sampling Station 4 Photo 5. Sampling Station 5 Photo 6. Sampling Station 6
Photo 7.Sampling Station 7 Photo 8.Sampling Station 8 Photo 9.Sampling Station 9
Photo 10. Sampling Station 10 Photo 11. Sampling Station 11 Photo 12. Sampling Station 12
Photo 13. Sampling Station 13 Photo 14.Sampling Station 14