Southern Coral Reef Conservation Project (LRCP)

Monthly Project Update October 2018

Location: Napantao Dive Resort, Napantao, San Francisco,

Project Scientist: Manon Broadribb [email protected]

LRCP Project Aim

The Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project (LRCP) is a CONTENTS: collaborative project to protect the coral reefs of , providing  Latest news training and conservation education opportunities for local Filipinos, as part of an integrated programme to develop local capacity and ensure  Story of the Month the long-term protection and sustainable use of marine resources  Educational & throughout the region. Coral Cay Conservation (CCC) is working at the Community Projects invitation of and in partnership with the Provincial Government of Southern  Survey Update Leyte (PGSL). CCC provides the resources to help sustain livelihoods and alleviate poverty through the protection, restoration and management of  Marine Scholarship News coral reefs and tropical forests.  Marine Creature of the month Latest News President agree to implement new MPA We’ve had some excellent news from the field this month! Our two Project Scientists (outgoing and incoming) were able to travel to the of President Quezon, in the Municipality of Liloan, Southern Leyte, to undertake a Marine Protected Area (MPA) recommendation presentation. After surveying the site last summer (2017), CCC analyzed the results in order to propose the most ideal area in which to establish an MPA. By considering fish and invertebrate diversity and abundance, in addition to scrutinizing commercially important species and interactions between reef organisms and substrates, it was deemed that although the surveyed site showed signs of fishing impacts, it was in a good position for improvement both biologically and socio-economically; should an MPA be established. Map showing no take zone (red line) and buffer zone (blue line) within the propoed President With the assistance of Ma’am Benita Dipay, designate for the Quezon MPA, courtesy of Sir. Armando Gaviola Provincial Environment and Natural Resource Management of PENRMO.

1 Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project , October 2018

Office (PENRMO) in the municipality of Liloan, and at the invitation of Barangay President Quezon’s Captain, our Project Scientist delivered this information, in addition to the recommendation.

After the presentation, community members were asked to discuss the topic, and to speak their opinions. They were very eager to do so. The main concern amongst fishermen is that they would lose their primary fishing grounds, with nowhere left to catch fish. However, through discussing topics such as the spill-over effect of fish within the MPA, conserving resources for future generations, and allowing local fishermen to continue hook and line fishing in productive areas (the marine reserve (MR) within the MPA) while more commercial boats may still navigate further offshore for their quests, a general consensus was made and the decision was made to implement an MPA! The no take zone within the MPA covers over 22 hectares, and the MR takes the total area up to 102 hectares. The decision was made to take the boundaries right up to those of the of Barangay Bahay in the south, which has increased the area protected by over 40%! An amazing achievement by everyone involved.

Goodbye to our Previous Project Scientist and Science Officer!

After welcoming our new project scientist, Manon Broadribb and science officer, Jordan Williams last month, the handover period began. Both Anik Levac (previous PS) and Jasmine Corbett (previous SO) did an amazing job of welcoming the new staff and making sure they felt completely comfortable in their roles, before sadly leaving the Coral Cay team to move onto new adventures! Anik will be working on a field project in Peru, and Jasmine is staying in the Philippines to complete her PADI instructor development course. We are so grateful for all the hard work they put in during their time here over the last 6 months, and we wish them all the best in their Anik, PS (left) and Jasmine, SO (right) future endeavours. Thank you Anik and Jasmine, and getting ready to leave site for the last time good luck to you both! with our driver Dan Dan. Photo: Gareth Turner. Stories of the Month

Project Scientist Trip to The Church of the Blood of Christ,

It was a busy and successful day earlier this month for our project scientists (outgoing and incoming), visiting various government departments in Maasin City to deliver CCC’s monthly project updates and relay to our project partners the progress that has been made recently. After a good day’s work, Sir Armando Gaviola of PENRMO (Provincial Environmental and Natural Resource Management Office) invited them to visit a church hidden in a cave on the outskirts of the city.

2

Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project Philippines, October 2018

Although tired from a long day of travel and meetings, the offer was eagerly accepted and they hopped on the back of Sir. Armando’s motorbike. After a short journey they arrived at the bottom of a seemingly endless flight of steps (according to Sir. Armando, over 600 of them!), the uphill struggle began, with each landing depicting a statue of Christ at a different stage of carrying the cross. It was well worth the effort when 20 sweaty minutes later, they arrived at The Church of the Blood of Christ: a beautiful chapel built inside a cave atop a hill overlooking Maasin city. They entered the church, which had huge drops of “blood” hanging from Project scientists Manon (left) and Anik the ceiling which are situated directly beneath the final (middle) with Sir Armando Gaviola of PENRMO, in front of the statue of Christ statue of Christ on the cross! which stands above the church on the top of the hill. Photo: Armando Gaviola. After snapping a few selfies of the view, they made their way back down on wobbly jelly legs and were dropped off back at their hotel. Thanks so much to Sir Armando for taking the time out of his evening to show our project scientists a hidden gem in the city of Maasin!

Dive Master Challenge Night!

Guts, glory, gold. These were the three words that CCC fellow Angus used to describe the events that took place at the Field Base on Saturday night. Anik Levac and Angus McReynolds had just completed their Divemaster program over an intense two-week course, but still had one final task to complete: The Divemaster Challenge Night. The night started with everyone revealing their Fancy Dress costumes with appearances of nudibranchs, Old-Man SCUBA himself, and a bait ball. The other staff members and scholar put together a series of six events for Anik and Angus to compete in, each one appearing to be more dubious and embarrassing than the next, here’s the breakdown of the more memorable challenges.

First off, the scavenger Hunt – five diving objects, five clues to lead each individual to their own set of objects. Each clue was based off of the behaviour of your opponent, so both Angus and Anik had to know each other well. This proved to be easy as the two had gotten to spent a lot of time in training together over the last two weeks. Next up, marshmallows – The two competitors were both knelt down before a personal plate of marshmallows and flour. Jasmine (SO) then Angus and Anik in their outfits for the night (top) proceeded to demonstrate a SCUBA skill before and playing the marshmallow game (bottom). our divers. Once determining the skill, the Photos: Jasmine Corbett.

3

Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project Philippines, October 2018 individual was required to retrieve a marshmallow and correctly guess the complete name of the skill while keeping the marshmallow in their mouth (no chewing/swallowing allowed) before their opponent did. This went on for six rounds and their mouths got quite full!! The night ended on a SCUBA Dance-Off – A final, ridiculous event to appropriately end the equally ridiculous night. Anik and Angus were put on display for everyone else’s enjoyment in a dance battle for the century. The catch? Their moves had to reflect any SCUBA skills of their choice.

It was an awesome night and laughs were shared by all. Congratulations to both Anik and Angus on completing this diving achievement.

Education and Community Projects

Community Day in Napantao, San Francisco

CCC have been based in Napantao, San Francisco, since 2008. During our time here we have been monitoring the Napantao Fish Sanctuary, a no-take zone MPA covering 5 hectares which was established in 1996, twice a year. We know the importance of keeping the local community involved in the work we do here (after all, it is the Barangay Bantay Dagats who monitor the MPA for illegal activities), and so after every survey we organise a community day to inform the Napantao community of our findings.

This community day was a complete success. Many members of the local community attended in order to watch the presentation given by our project scientist discussing the most recent findings from our biophysical surveys of the MPA. Napantao Fish Sanctuary is an example of how a small, community managed no-take zone can have huge impacts, and this was evidenced PS Manon giving the community day presentationl focusing on the most recent survey of the reef in in the data we found, meaning the findings Napantao Fish Sanctuary, and the problem of being presented were almost all positive plastic in our oceans and what we can do to help (which is always a good thing!). tackle this. Photo: Gareth Turner.

4

Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project Philippines, October 2018

We then moved on to discussing the problem of plastic in our oceans, which is seen even within well managed MPAs such as the one here in Napantao. After a quick quiz about the amount of plastic waste we produce globally, and how this can affect the marine environment (where the kids were happy to get involved, after the promise of sweets in return for correct guesses was made), we moved on to talking about eco- bricks. The workshop was a huge success – many of the kids even brought their own scissors in anticipation, and were all eco-brick making pros! We can’t thank the Coral, one of our trusty guard dogs, people of Barangay Napantao enough for always came along to give moral support (and making us feel welcome, and for their active efforts to spent most of the day peeking out from protect and manage their local MPA. We look forward to under the table!). Photo: Gareth Turner. more community events in the future!

Survey Monthly Update

Survey background: Since January 2013, survey efforts have been focused on assessing potential and existing Marine Protected Areas in Sogod Bay to provide appropriate management recommendations. To do this CCC uses an expanded version of the Reef Check protocol, which has been customised to perfectly fit our work in Sogod Bay. Prior to this a baseline appraisal of marine resources in Sogod Bay was carried out. In 2018, CCC will be using a revised approach to assess the effectiveness of CCC’s previous efforts in establishing Marine Protected Area’s (MPAs) with the goal of understanding the barriers associated to their establishment in the Southern Leyte Province. If you would like more information about our surveying please contact our Project Scientist, Manon Broadribb at [email protected].

Napantao Bi-Annual Survey

Established in 1996, Napantao Fish Sanctuary (San Francisco, Southern Leyte) is a prime example of a successful MPA over time. The MPA boasts an astoundingly biodiverse reef, making it a popular dive site amongst local dive resorts. Not only are the coral populations healthy and diverse, but the fish and invertebrate life as well. Biologists, Scuba Instructors and volunteers alike typically surface in awe after taking their first dive in the reserve. Fishermen are often seen spear- fishing outside the MPA, where commercially important species such as Parrotfish (Lapulapu), Grouper (Molmol) and Snapper (Katambak) of considerable size are often seen. Our beautiful house reef here at Napantao. Photo: Jasmine Corbett

5

Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project Philippines, October 2018

As mentioned in last month’s project update, we began our second annual biophysical survey of the Napantao Fish Sanctuary in September, as part of our ongoing long term monitoring project. The surveying was completed this month, and we are happy to say the reef is looking as healthy as ever. Almost 50% of the substrate is made up of hard corals, with these being an almost completely even mix of stress tolerant, fast growing, and competitor corals. This shows the reef to be healthy and diverse, as well as being capable Lots of fish = a healthy reef! Photo: Jasmine Corbett. of relatively fast recovery from any disturbances. Fish stocks are still looking healthy, with one transect having almost 500 fish recorded on it during the survey! The commercially important species mentioned above were found in reasonably high abundance, and in a variety of sizes, some reaching almost 50cm in length. Invertebrate numbers are also high, with around 100-150 recorded on each transect, again showing a complex, diverse community structure within the reef here at Napantao Fish Sanctuary.

Surveying Begins at Nueva Estrella Norte

After gaining permission from the captain of Barangay Nueva Estrella Norte, this month the team began surveying the MPA there as part of PENRMO’s “PAME” project, in which we will be assessing the impacts of MPAs which have been in place for over two years. It’s too early to say for sure now, but the reef looks like it is in pretty good condition and the team are happy to be able to dive and survey yet another beautiful location in Southern Leyte.

Scientific reports from all of CCC’s sites around the world are available on our website at http://www.coralcay.org/science-research/scientific-reports

Marine Scholarship News

Each month CCC offers Filipino nationals who display an ambition to study and protect the vital marine ecosystems of the Philippines an opportunity to take part in our Marine Conservation Scholarship. The programme lasts for one month and involves training in SCUBA diving to the level of PADI Advanced Open Water. Scholars then take part in an intensive Skills Development Programme giving them the knowledge and expertise to conduct sub- marine surveys of the coastline.

6

Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project Philippines, October 2018

Welcome Karl!

During the month of October, we welcomed Karl Pregon from Davao City, our latest CCC scholar. Karl arrived full of enthusiasm and prior knowledge of marine life but wanted to expand on his experience while learning to dive. Karl completed his dive training with flying colours, and he continued to show his dedication towards studying marine conservation throughout his SDP training. So much so, that he decided to extend his stay so he could partake in more surveys conducted here in the bay of Sogod, contributing to our research. After his scholarship with us Karl is hoping to pursue a Masters degree in Marine biology. Best of luck Karl, and thanks for all the hard work!

“I considered this scholarship a step towards my future career goals, but now I am certain this is what I want to do. Being Karl strikes a pose on our dive boat “Nudi Hunter” whilst surrounded with people from different parts of the globe in the getting ready to start one of Philippines was so much fun. Just second to learning all the his first surveys! Photo: Gareth needed science for marine conservation. It was a new Turner. experience and I love every single of it. Daghang salamat CCC for this opportunity. May you create and develop more environmental leaders willing to face and engage the challenges our planet Earth is, and will be facing.”- Karl Pregon.

If you would like to apply for the CCC Marine Conservation Scholarship programme or read more about it, please visit: http://www.coralcay.org/volunteer/scholarship- opportunities/

7

Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project Philippines, October 2018

Marine Creature of the Month

CCC’s Creature of the Month goes to the Peacock Mantis Shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus). The mantis shrimp has three different names in the Philippines: tatampal, hipong-dapa, or alupihang-dagat.

This species is found in the warm waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, one was recently spotted in our Napantao reef by a scholar and volunteer! The shrimp lives in the crevices of coral and rocks on the ocean floor and are known to be very territorial, exhibiting aggressive behaviour towards intruders. This tenacious shrimp has club-like appendages that fold beneath its body, resembling a praying mantis (hence the name). These appendages are used to attack prey by striking with the speed of a .22 caliber bullet (about 51 mph), fast enough to Peacock Mantis Shrimp. Photo: Jasmine break through the shell of a crab or mollusc! Their Corbett (PS March-September 2018) punches have also been known to break through aquarium glass, making the peacock mantis shrimp a poor choice of pet.

Its hard-shelled body is painted with hues of bright red, green, orange and blue, similar to a peacock! At the top of their heads is a set of protruding eyes which are the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom, containing millions of light-sensitive cells. With 16 color-receptive cones (compared to humans, which just have three), the peacock mantis shrimp can detect ten times more color than a human, including ultraviolet light. It can also move each eye independently, allowing them to use their exceptional eyesight to easily avoid predators and track down prey.

Learn More!

To learn more about the CCC Philippines project, to join the expedition, or to find out about local marine scholarships, visit www.coralcay.org

8