Threats to Marine Wildlife
Unsustainable, Destructive, and Illegal Fishing Practices
Fishing is a major threat to all marine wildlife, which often ends up as by-catch on the fishing boats. Most animals need to come to the ocean surface to breathe in regular intervals. Once entangled in a net, they will drown if they cannot reach the surface. Drifting gill nets are especially detrimental to the survival of marine megafauna, but also hook and line and other types of nets cause marine wildlife to die. Destructive, and illegal, fishing practices refer to the use of particularly harmful fishing methods, such as cyanide and dynamite fishing. Both methods are still used and can either cause permanent injuries to the animals or be fatal. In addition, they cause irreversible damage to their habitats, such as coral reefs. Other illegal fishing practices include fishing inside Marine Protected Areas, or the use of active fishing gear and/or commercial fishing boats in municipal waters, which is prohibited under the Philippine Fisheries Code. When commercial fishing boats fish inside municipal waters, which are shallower and important developmental habitats for marine wildlife, the animals have a higher probability of being caught either in the nets or of being struck by a propeller. Picture: Dugong (dead) – Cause of death unclear, possibly net entanglement, boat strike on snout, or dynamite fishing |
- Follow the regulations in the Philippine Fisheries Code (RA 8550, as amended by RA 10654)
- Regularly check your nets and free any entangled animals
- If entangled animals are injured, bring them to Amihan sa Dahican-SOS for rehabilitation; if the animals are dead, report to Amihan sa Dahican-SOS and/or to the Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines and/or DENR-BMB
- Do not practice dynamite and cyanide fishing, as this is not only harmful to the ecosystems and wildlife, but can also cause injuries to you and to other people around you, e.g. divers who may be in the water
- Support the establishment of Marine Protected Areas and respect their boundaries
Unsustainable Tourism/Wildlife Interaction
Even though tourism is a great way to show visitors the abundance of wildlife we have here on Dahican Beach and in Mayo Bay, tourism development needs to be sustainable and resorts and tour operators should consider the marine wildlife and their habitats in their daily operations, e.g. This comprises the sensible interaction of tourists with wildlife, as the animals should not be harassed and be observed from a distance. That is why we sometimes need to monitor the interaction of tourists with the turtles when they are laying eggs, as people would not know the distancing guidelines and disturb the mother turtles with flash light photography, loud noise, and by touching the turtle. Video: LAMAVE shows the recommended interaction distance for marine wildlife. |
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- Keep your distance in interacting with marine wildlife
- Don't use (bright) light at night and make a lot of noise as this may distract e.g. turtles from nesting
- If you find hatchlings that got lost and are wandering around in resorts, gently place them into the water
- Don't feed wild animals to keep them as a tourist attraction, they may lose their migratory and foraging behaviour and lose their ecosystem role in the ocean
- Always follow the latest scientifically based guidance on how to interact with marine wildlife for tourism purposes, e.g. marine turtle hatchlings must not be headstarted, but released into the ocean the latest half an hour after hatching to use their initial frenzy
Light Pollution
Increased tourism often also leads to more lighting along the beach, but animals can react very sensitively to light, especially marine turtles. Mother turtles can be deterred from entering nesting beaches if the light shines too brightly and, even worse, little hatchlings may never reach the ocean after they emerge from their nest. They normally orient themselves at the light of sky and ocean to run into the sea, but if other light sources are brighter, e.g. from surrounding resorts, they may be disoriented, run into the opposite direction and fall prey easily to predators. This can be prevented by re-designing the light sources, e.g. by pointing all exterior lights downwards, or by changing the light wavelengths, to light of of 580 nm or longer or true red LEDs (no filters) or Amber light (warm/yellow light). Don't use white light, such as halogen or fluorescent light. Pool deck lights, pool lights and terrace lights near the beach should be turned off at night. As general guidelines, Barshel et al. (2014) mention the ones below. Picture: Marine turtle laying eggs in front of a beach bar/restaurant. When the hatchlings emerge, the probability is high that they will run towards the light in the restaurant – away from the ocean. |
- Keep it Low – Mount the light fixture as low as possible in order to minimize light trespass, and also use the lowest amount of light (lumens) that is needed for the task
- Keep it Long – Use long wavelength light sources, such as Amber and Red, in the correct lighting wavelength: 580 nm and above
- Keep it Shielded – Fully shield the light bulbs and/or ensure that the light bulbs are not visible from the beach
Poaching
Even though prohibited under the Philippine Wildlife Act, poaching is still an issue. For marine turtles it's the slaughter of adult turtles for meat and the digging up of marine turtle eggs for consumption. Regular beach patrols accompanied by egg relocations to hatcheries, like we do, can help prevent that. Dugongs are rarely poached, but are opportunistically taken when entangled. Dolphins and whales are mostly poached for their fins that are mostly consumed in other countries. After cutting off the fins, the alive animals are pushed back into the ocean where they drown. To prevent such illegal activities, we urge community members to report any observations to this regard to the DENR-BMB. Picture: Marine turtle eggs |
- Don't harm/harass/kill marine turtles and don't dig up their eggs for consumption or trade – these activities are prohibited under the Philippine Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act (RA 9147)
- If there is poaching on-going in your area, find out the reasons (traditional rites, local beliefs regarding turtles such as medicinal value, poverty etc.), and identify appropriate mitigation actions, such as awareness raising activities or alternative livelihoods
- If you see or know about someone engaging in these illegal activities, report that person to your local CENRO, PENRO, or the DENR-BMB Head Office
Coastal Development
Many tourist resorts, but also private residences, do not comply with the easement stipulated in the Philippine Water Code (PD 1067) that bans any construction activities 40m from the high tide mark in areas classified as forest, to which most coastal areas also belong. Moreover, artificial structures, such as seawalls, can make it difficult for marine turtles to come to the beach and nest. Light pollution (see above) from resorts can irritate marine wildlife. Moreover, construction/near-shore dredging often leads to sedimentation in the water, covering seagrass blades and coral reefs, making photosynthesis difficult to impossible, which can severely damage these ecosystems. In addition with noise pollution (see below), ill-managed coastal development can considerably harm sensitive marine wildlife and their habitats.
Many tourist resorts, but also private residences, do not comply with the easement stipulated in the Philippine Water Code (PD 1067) that bans any construction activities 40m from the high tide mark in areas classified as forest, to which most coastal areas also belong. Moreover, artificial structures, such as seawalls, can make it difficult for marine turtles to come to the beach and nest. Light pollution (see above) from resorts can irritate marine wildlife. Moreover, construction/near-shore dredging often leads to sedimentation in the water, covering seagrass blades and coral reefs, making photosynthesis difficult to impossible, which can severely damage these ecosystems. In addition with noise pollution (see below), ill-managed coastal development can considerably harm sensitive marine wildlife and their habitats.
- Draft proper coastal development plans together with all relevant stakeholders and use zoning to identify sensitive habitats
- Adhere to the stipulated 40m easement from the high-tide mark and don't build anything within that zone
- If your resort and/or residence is near a marine turtle nesting beach, make sure you know how to interact with these animals (keep your distance, turn your lights off at night) and spread your knowledge to others
Solid Waste Pollution
Solid waste, especially plastic pollution, is another major threat. Marine animals may confuse the waste with food and the aggregating plastics in their tummies cannot be excreted any more and lead to starvation. Single use items, such as straws, can get stuck, e.g. in their nostrils, and other hard plastic, such as can rings, can lead to malformations when extremities or snouts are enclosed. The set up of waste bins (basurahan) near the beach and the regular waste collection, as well as increased awareness among community members, are essential to protect the marine – and terrestrial – wildlife from this fate. Another form of solid waste pollution is abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear, so called ghost gear, which consists of abandoned nets drifting in the ocean. Once entangled, many animals cannot escape the net any more and die. Picture: Spinner dolphin (dead) – Injury and malformation through plastic strangulating rostrum (snout) |
- Don't throw your waste into the environment – look for a basurahan (waste bin) or throw away into your bin at home
- Pick up waste that you encounter on the beach – be careful, don't hurt yourself – and dispose of it properly
- If you can, buy larger packages instead of small sachets and use the refill option, e.g. for soap
- Bring your own shopping bag when you go to Robinson's, 7/11, SM etc.
- If you snorkel and/or dive, pick up trash that you encounter, but be careful not to break off any corals when you gently remove it
- Organise and take part in local community clean up events – even if your community is not next to the beach, waste can easily be flushed from higher regions into the ocean during rainy season
Boat Strikes and Noise Pollution
If no clear navigational lanes and speed limits are designated, and fishing and tourist boats are passing in the entire municipal waters without regulation, the probability of boat strikes is very high. As mentioned above, many marine animals come to the surface regularly to breathe. If they collide with the ship's propeller, they may be severely injured or die. Even the hard turtle shells do not always provide sufficient protection, let alone the soft skin of a dugong or dolphin. Clear zoning stipulations should thus be developed and tourism interaction guidelines with marine wildlife should be enforced and adhered to. Another issue related to the increasing boat traffic is noise pollution. If the noise underwater becomes louder, marine animals have difficulties communicating with each other and some are so disturbed by the noise that they are forced to leave their home habitats and have to look for quieter places. Picture: Marine turtle (dead) – Boat strike on its head |
- Encourage zoning of municipal waters, including multi-use buffer zones, e.g. for fishing and recreation, and core zones, where fishing activities are prohibited
- Follow the municipal water delineations and don't let commercial fishing boats operate within the 10.1 or 15km coastal zone (which of these two distances is set depends on the municipality)
- Establish Marine Protected Areas and either prohibit or limit the boat traffic in that area
- Designate areas where no motor boats are allowed, e.g. in the core zones of Marine Protected Areas
- Identify commonly frequented foraging areas and developmental habitats of marine wildlife in shallow areas and avoid boat traffic in or near these habitats
Other Injuries