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By Chris Dearne:
Total Reef Domes Deployed by the 17th July 2006 = 2,555!
Brief Summary of the Project!
The Reef Dome Project was first started on the 1st April 2005 and the first domes were set at Maharlika Beach Resort on the 17th April 2005. During the first 15 months a total of 2,532 domes were set in and around Sarangani Bay and as of today, a further 109 domes are constructed and ready for deployment within the next few days!
Project Recognition!
On the 24th November 2005, The SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD of General Santos City issued Resolution No 456 Series of 2005 commending this Reef Enhancement Project Aimed to Rehabilitate the Marine Environment of Sarangani Bay!
We thank them whole heartedly for their kind moral and financial support!
A Shameful Incident occurred which has a negative effect the project!
At the end of May, which is the official Month of the Ocean, an incident occurred which has now slowed down some of our planned objectives for Coral Reef Enhancement, the transfer of corals from one site to another!
A Mrs. Terresa Garay, The “Action Officer” for the Kagandahan Gen San, (The People who beautify the Cities Road Islands etc) in her wisdom along with some of her fellow City Employees illegally destroyed a section of Living Coral Reef in Sarangani Province and tried to transport the dead corals using a government vehicle on an unauthorized journey into the City but were apprehended and arrested for this evil deed!
As a consequence of this stupidity, our Coral Transfer Program where we transport living corals from areas of abundance to areas with less or zero corals i.e. Maharlika Beach to Lion Beach has now had to be put on hold until we can hopefully acquire a permit which will allow us to continue with this necessary program!
I truly hope that Mrs. Garay and all others involved in this Federal Criminal Act are punished by the law and fired from their jobs in the City! If not then this will set a bad example to others employed by the government to do what they want to do, legal or not without fear of reprimand! The City does not need such employees!
New Ideas This Quarter!
In some Strong Current areas we have decided not to transplant corals onto the domes except for any broken pieces scattered on the reef! The reason for this is that we have found that in certain areas the natural corals are appearing and developing as quickly as the transplants! In slower current areas we will still continue to transplant! I must stress that these transplants consist of broken and uprooted corals in the vicinity of the newly deployed domes and not transferred from one reef to another!
Dome Locations!
During the project we have set 2,532 domes in and around Sarangani Bay with 109 constructed and ready to deploy! See attached spread sheet for details!
Goals for 2006!
Seeing as we deployed 2,005 domes in the first 12 months! By the end of December 2006 we hope to have over deployed 3,300 domes and by the 17th April 2007 we expect to have 4,000+ domes deployed!
Coral Transplants!
In many cases, the transplants have really taken a good hold and are developing very well indeed! Table Corals have really surprised us in many cases with their speed of growth! The soft hand corals have now totally covered some domes with their aggressive growth leaving a well camouflaged habitat module for the marine creatures!
Natural Coral Growth on Domes!
The natural coral growth appears to be different at each site depending on the condition of the water! On the off shore reefs and at South Point Tinoto where there are strong currents and less silt, the natural growth of hard corals is more prominent! In these areas, the corals are really blooming!
In the areas of reef where there is less current and more silt the growth is noticeably slower where barnacles and soft corals appear to lead the growth with hard corals following but at a slower pace!
Fish Habitat!
Many species of Fish and other Marine Creatures have picked out their place either in and around the domes and within the confines of the transplanted corals!
The volume of life has visibly increased in most areas and we hope that as the new reefs mature, so too will the population of marine organisms!
T’ Shirts!
In order to help raising funds for the project very good quality Reef Awareness T’ Shirt’s are still being produced with a Mushroom Dome as the main feature. These shirts are available at Cambridge Farm Hotel for Php 450.00 each. The profits help to purchase construction materials for the domes!
Summary!
During the time that this project has been on going, 15 months, the progress has been very good and acceptable to all involved and with each visit to the undersea realm the progress appears more amazing with every dive! In that period of time we have set 2,532 domes in the water!
Unfortunately the destructive fishing practices still go on unchecked and the corals are still being damaged and destroyed by uncaring and unregulated net fishermen!
At Maharlika Beach, the prime Stag Horn Coral patch was damaged when once again a person broke up 2 large sections of the coral in order to camouflage his Bobo Traps! Without protection these destructive practices will never stop!
Now is a very exciting time for us as the new growth of hard corals are taking shape and are becoming easily distinguishable! By the next report we will be able to name some of these new corals as Marine Biologists will now begin a study on the domes to measure and time the coral types and growth and to check fish and other marine organisms directly involved with the domes as habitat!
As the project gets more publicity, the more interest is being shown by people in all walks of life and more people are actually investing in the future of the Sarangani Bay by donating to the Reef Dome Project! I wish to thank each and every one of these donors for their kind support!
Total Reef Domes Deployed by the 17th October 2006 = 2,990!
Brief Summary of the Project!
The Reef Dome Project was first started on the 1st April 2005 and the first domes were set at Maharlika Beach Resort on the 17th April 2005. During the first 18 months since deployment started, a total of 2,990 domes were set in and around Sarangani Bay and as of today, a further 85 domes are constructed and ready for deployment within the next few days, weather permitting!
Funding!
The Project Aware Foundation has realized the benefit of the project for our Marine Eco System and has awarded the sum of 900 Australian Dollars towards the completion of the project! The Philippine Ports Authority has also ordered 100 domes for Lion Beach! We thank All Organizations and individuals for their kind assistance!
Stormy Weather!
Unfortunately for us, the weather has been very unkind and has been the worst for many years. This has caused a slow down of the project as the waves have been just too big and powerful to allow divers to work safely deploying the domes!
Visibility has also been a problem has the storms have stirred up the sediments on the seabed causing the visibility to drop to Zero on many occasions!
Many areas of shallow reef were especially hard hit and whole areas of Cabbage Corals were flattened but will recover in the near future!!
On the Kamanga Offshore Reef near Maasim, the Dive Team discovered more than 400 Table Corals which had been turned over by the storms! As many as could be were turned back the correct way in order to give them another chance of life by the team! Well done to the Dive Team Members!
Some domes which were deployed in very shallow water were moved or even tipped over by the storm but this was expected especially in Tinoto where the water is shallow and the waves can be very violent and destructive! This being a new kind of Project for the area, these storms were a very good learning curve to point out any such problems! All in all, the domes stood up to these extremes of weather with very little loss or damage so I think that we have got our design just about correct for our area of the world!
Goals for 2006!
Seeing as we actually deployed 2,005 domes in the first 12 months! By the end of December 2006 we still hope to have over deployed 3,300 domes and by the 17th April 2007 we expect to have 4,000+ domes deployed!
Coral Transplants!
In many cases, the transplants have really taken a good hold and are developing very well indeed! Table Corals have really surprised us in many cases with their speed of growth! The soft hand corals have now totally covered some domes with their aggressive growth leaving a well camouflaged habitat module for the marine creatures!
Natural Coral Growth on Domes!
The natural coral growth appears to be different at each site depending on the condition of the water! On the off shore reefs and at South Point Tinoto where there are strong currents and less silt, the natural growth of hard corals is more prominent! In these areas, the corals are really blooming!
In the areas of reef where there is less current and more silt the growth is noticeably slower where barnacles and soft corals appear to lead the growth with hard corals following but at a slower pace!
Fish Habitat!
Many species of Fish and other Marine Creatures have picked out their place either in and around the domes and within the confines of the transplanted corals!
The volume of life has visibly increased in most areas and we hope that as the new reefs mature, so too will the population of marine organisms! Unfortunately, the local fishermen have noticed the increase in the fish population and are now targeting theses areas!
T’ Shirts!
In order to help raising funds for the project we are still offering very good quality Reef Awareness T’ Shirt’s which are being produced with a Mushroom Dome as the main feature. These shirts are available at Cambridge Farm Hotel for Php 450.00 each. The profits help to purchase construction materials for the domes!
Summary!
During the time that this project has been on going, 18 months, the progress has been very good and acceptable to all involved and with each visit to the undersea realm the progress appears more amazing with every dive! In that period of time we have set 2,990 domes in the water!
Unfortunately the destructive fishing practices still go on unchecked and the corals are still being damaged and destroyed by uncaring and unregulated net fishermen!
Without protection these destructive practices will never stop!
(Note)I must point out that during the latest series of storms, Mother Nature created more damage to the shallow coral reef areas than the local fishermen ever do!
Now is a very exciting time for us as the new growth of hard corals are taking shape and are becoming easily distinguishable! By the next report we will be able to name some of these new corals as Marine Biologists will now begin a study on the domes to measure and time the coral types and growth and to check fish and other marine organisms directly involved with the domes as habitat! This information was planned for this report but unfortunately with the poor weather conditions, the gathering of accurate data was difficult to impossible!
As the project gets more publicity, the more interest is being shown by people in all walks of life and more people are actually investing in the future of the Sarangani Bay by donating to the Reef Dome Project! I wish to thank each and every one of these donors for their kind support!
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