Southern Coral Reef Conservation

Project (SLCRCP)

Monthly Project Update

December 2011

Location: Napantao Dive Resort, Napantao, San Francisco,

Project Scientist: Joe Wilkinson

SLRCP Project Aim The Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project (SLCRCP) is a Contents collaborative project to survey the coral reefs of . The  Latest news programme provides training and conservation education opportunities for local Filipinos, as part of an integrated programme to develop local  Educational Activities capacity and ensure the long-term protection and sustainable use of marine resources throughout the region. Coral Cay Conservation (CCC)  Community Work is working at the invitation of and in partnership with the Provincial Government of Southern Leyte and the Philippine Reef & Rainforest  Survey Update

Conservation Foundation Inc (PRRCFI). Coral Cay Conservation provides  Marine Creature of the the resources to help sustain livelihoods and alleviate poverty through month the protection, restoration and management of coral reefs and tropical forests.

Latest News

Throughout December, Coral Cay volunteers have begun monitoring surveys of the local Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Manglit, a few kilometres south of the base in the municipality of Pintuyan.

Our Education Officer also gave a presentation to students from the Alternative Learning System (ALS) in and took them on a ‘threat detection’ snorkel in their local MPA.

One of our volunteers assessing benthic coverage during a survey in Manglit, Pintuyan

Southern Leyte Reef Conservation Project , December, 2011

Story of the Month

Coastal Resource Management with Alternative Learning Systems Students

On the 7th of December Education Officer, Heather Murray and Community Liaison Officer Dag Navarrete presented a lecture on Coastal Resource Management for Alternative Learning Systems (ALS) students in Macrohon. ALS is a newly developed adult education program designed to up skill high school dropouts. After a morning lecture on the importance of corals as a coastal resource, and how to recognise threats to the reef, Dags and Heather took the students for a threat identification snorkel in the Macrohon Marine Protected Area. Everyone was staggered to find a large number of Crown of Thorns starfish (a species which eats corals, breeds rapidly, and can obliterate a reef if their population gets out of control). Returning to the beach an exciting set of events took place, as in attendance was Nicanor Bendito (Provincial Fisheries Technician), two Barangay Captains, and the Bantay Dagat (coast guard). Within minutes a Crown of Thorns clean up was arranged to occur in the following weeks and that the ALS students should be a part of the procedures. It was an amazing sense of achievement for the students, who had only just learnt and recognised the importance of reefs, but then had identified a major problem, and were now to be a part of the conservation protection measures!

Education and Community Projects

College of Visit Napantao

On Thursday 22nd December, around 30 nursing students from the College of Maasin visited Coral Cay base, as part of their Christmas vacation celebrations. Coral Cay Conservation Community Liaison Officer, Dag Navarrete, guided the students on a snorkel of the Napantao Marine Protected Area. In the afternoon they were all enthralled to learn about Coral Reef Ecology and threats to reef systems in a presentation by Coral Cay’s new Project Scientist, Joe Wilkinson, and existing Education Officer, Heather Murray. All had a very enjoyable and educational afternoon.

Sta Paz National High School Christmas Variety Show

Coral Cay Education Officer, Heather, was invited to act as one of the judges for the Sta Paz National High School Christmas Variety Show 2011. Each class from each year level were competing against each other in categories of dance, song, and music interpretation, all with a Christmas theme. Dry ice smoke filled the stage, while firework explosions, and all sorts of bright costumes were on display. Heather was pleased to see each of the twelve Reef Ranger students, who had recently completed coral reef training with Coral Cay, strutting their stuff. Heather read the results of the competition and a large round of applause finished a very enjoyable evening showcasing the student’s talents, but also a nice way for Coral Cay Conservation to be represented in the community.

Southern Leyte Reef Conservation Project Philippines, December, 2011

Sta Paz National High School students dance and sing a Christmas beat

Coral Cay Reef Ranger Edvincent Ramiso and partner sing in the Sta Paz National High School Christmas Variety show

Survey Update

Survey background: Our baseline- surveying programme is designed to gather data about the biological and morphological standing of Sogod Bay. This data is combined with information on human and natural impacts on the reefs, along with oceanographic data, to ultimately produce a Geographical Information System ‘map’ of the various habitats of the bay. It is like a ‘stock-take’ of the current marine resources, which is being produced to provide policymakers and concerned institutions with information necessary to effectively manage those resources. To date the northern end of Sogod Bay has been surveyed and the remainder of the project will concentrate on the south including and Island. If you would like more information on our surveying

2011 has been a busy year for CCC in terms of surveying. So far this year, we have completed monitoring surveys of the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) at

Southern Leyte Reef Conservation Project Philippines, December, 2011

Napantao, Liloan, Punta, Son-ok and Santa Paz.

Analysis of data collected during the recent surveys of the MPA in barangay Napantao is currently underway. The monitoring work is conducted both within and outside the MPA (also known as Fish Sanctuaries) in order to assess the impact that conservation measures have on coral health and fish stocks. These results are presented to the local community and used to steer effective management of the MPA

This month we have been plagued by problems with our boat but have still managed to make significant headway with MPA surveys in barangay Manglit, Pintuyan.

The map depicted above summarises the survey sites for 2011 so far.

We have also been given permission to begin surveying of the MPA at Barangay Catbawan and to assess the reef condition at Nuevo Estrella with the aim of setting up a new MPA in the area.

Marine Creature of the Month! This month’s marine creature of the month is Lauriea Siagiani otherwise known as the Hairy Squat Lobster. It grows to only 1.5cm in size and exclusively inhabits the ridges on the outside of Giant Barrel Sponges. It can sometimes be seen releasing its eggs from its mouth in big clouds. Squat lobsters are not actually lobsters at all and are more closely related to hermit crabs and are easily identified by their flattened bodies and long claws and arms. This one was photographed at the southern end of our house reef in the Napantao MPA.

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.