Southern Coral Reef Conservation

Project (SLCRCP)

Monthly Project Update

July 2011

Location: Napantao Dive Resort, Napantao, San Francisco,

Project Scientist: Ian Leiper

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

Latest News

This month saw the departure of our wonderful Expedition Leader Louise Baldwin, who spent the last couple of months here on-site at Napantao escaping her usual role as Project Manager at CCC Head Office, London. Kate Longhurst also departed at the end of July, after a six month stint as Project Scientist. Kate was instrumental in coordinating MPA surveys in Liloan, Punta, and Sonok, countless baseline surveys around Panoan Island, and was instrumental in assisting Dag Navarette with his RARE PRIDE campaign in Punta. Speaking of Dag, we are very happy to welcome him back on site after a five week workshop in Bohol. Jan-Willem van Bochove, CCC Head of Marine Science, was on site this month during his brief trip to the Philippines to touch base with Dag in Bohol, see how things are going in Napantao, liaise with officials, and survey potential sites for a CCC project site move next year.

Events this month included:

1. Southern Leyte 51st anniversary celebrations 2. Attending RARE workshop in Bohol 3. SLSU Philippines Customs and Culture event 4. Pintuyan MPA presentation 5. MFLET Wokshop 6. Liloan Fiesta

Southern Leyte Reef Conservation Project Philippines, July, 2011

Story of the Month

RARE Conservation Workshop in Tagbilaran City, Bohol

CCC’s Community Liaison Officer Dag Navarette has just returned from a six week stay in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, for the second University stage of his Rare Pride Campaign. This stage was dedicated to the design and implementation of social marketing strategies and activities.

Dag is one of only twelve Conservation Fellows in the Philippines who were selected to take part in the Rare Pride Program for Sustainable Fishing in the Philippines, dedicated to using social marketing and conservation strategies to strengthen MPA management in the Philippines.

At the culmination of the workshop an official agreement was signed by RARE, CCC Community Liaison Officer and RARE the Municipality of San Francisco, and Conservation Fellow Dag Navarette with Coral Cay Conservation to pledge ongoing Project Scientist Kate Longhurst support of the MPAs in their municipality, to ensure sustainability of their natural marine resources

Representatives from RARE, GiZ, San Francisco Municipality and CCC

Southern Leyte Reef Conservation Project Philippines, July, 2011

Education and Community Projects

Southern Leyte 51st Anniversary Celebrations

On the 1st of July, Staff and volunteers were up at 4am to begin their four hour journey to , the Provincial capital of Southern Leyte.

We were invited to join the annual parade that was part of the week long festivites to celebrate the 51st Founding Anniversary of Southern Leyte.

Project Scientists Kate Longhurst and Ian Leiper were invited onto the stage at the end of the parade, to meet, greet, and hear presentations by officials including the Governor of Southern Leyte, Hon. Damian Staff and volunteers attend the 51st Founding Mercado, mayors from each Anniversary of Southern Leyte, with Ma’am municipality, and the Chairman Navarette and Tracy Navarette Committee Hon. Albert Esclamado from the Provincial Government. Meanwhile, volunteers were able wander around the different stalls and displays that were around the parade grounds.

SLSU Philippines Customs and Culture Seminar

Ma’am Dinah Catamco and Coral Cay Conservation Ambassadors from the Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management program at Southern Leyte State University (SLSU) visited our site at Napantao this month. CCC staff and volunteers were fortunate to be given presentations on Philippines Customs and CCC Ambassadors from the Hotel, Restaurant amd Cultures including Tourism Management program at Southern Leyte State Highlights of Southern University Leyte, facts and figures, history, places and attractions, culture, and languages. This program was followed by a

Southern Leyte Reef Conservation Project Philippines, July, 2011

display of traditional Phillippine dances – including an interactive component that saw many of the staff and volunteers learning the steps.

MFLET Workshop

On the 27th and 28th of July, a Marine Fisheries Law Enforcement Team (MFLET) Training Workshop was held in San Francisco. This was attended by the Bantay Dagat (local marine wardens) from Napantao and Punta barangays, who enforce of the rules and regulations of Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s) within the municipality.

The event acheived a crucial milestone in the RARE Conservation Project for Dag Navarette. Training the Bantay Dagat from Punta was a very important step to establish an active enforcement presence to monitor their MPA, which was previously unguarded and at risk from illegal and destructive fishinng practices. The training included lectures on marine laws, chart reading and navigation skills, approaching vessels, estimating tonnage of vessels, and assessing fishing gear.

Participants learning how to calculate the tonnage of a vessel during the Marine Fisheries Law Enforcement Training Workshop

Liloan Fiesta

In a lively end to the month, volunteers and staff attended the Liloan Fiesta on 31 July. The night began at a local karaoke bar before progressing onto the main event - the disco, held at the local basketball stadium (which included crowning of the king and queen of Liloan).

Southern Leyte Reef Conservation Project Philippines, July, 2011

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 rationale or methodology, please do not hesitate to contact our Project Scientist.

The first half of 2011 has been a busy time for CCC in terms of surveying. So far this year, we have conducted surveys of the MPAs at Lilo-an, Punta and Son-ok. Results of the survey at Son-ok were presented to the Municipal Government this Month. The overall health of the coral reef in the Son-ok MPA is good, and provides a baseline upon which to monitor change in the following years. The abundance and diversity of fish inside the MPA was promising, with significantly higher numbers of maya maya (snappers) and alibangbang (butterflyfish) found inside the MPA.

This month we started to survey the permanent transects inside and outside the MPA at Napantao, San Fransisco, which was established in 1996. We will finish surveying this site during August, and then begin surveys of two more surveys in Pintuyan and a third in Santa Paz. The map on the right shows all the survey sites for 2011 so far.

Southern Leyte Reef Conservation Project Philippines, July, 2011

Scholarship News

This month, we were happy to be joined by Jerome Napala. Jerome comes to us from the Municipality of Malitbog, on the western side of Sogod bay.

Jerome hopes to become a skilled scuba diver who will be able to survey the coral reefs in Sogod Bay, and help to preserve the marine environment near Malitbog in particular.

Jerome has proven to be quite an expert at spotting mandarin fish! Jerome Napala diving on the House Reef at Napantao

Marine Creature of the Month!

No it’s not a sponge! It’s Heirachio, Napantao’s Giant frogfish (Antennarius commersoni). Heirachio was first spotted at the beginning of the month and has continued to hang around at Napantao North Wall.

Frogfish are one of the most looked for species on tropical reefs round the world. They are highly camouflaged, taking the colour of surrounding sponges to blend in with perfect camouflage amongst their reef environment. Volunteers had a real treat being able to see this amazing reef fish at close quarters on multiple occasions.

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.