Thursday, September 27, 2007 A fishy tale By Maria Carmel P. Geverola
THE wonders and beauty of life under the sea are always worth exploring. After all, planet Earth is made up of 75 percent water. The water world is what the Lapu-Lapu City Government wants tourists to get to know better when visiting Mactan Island. For the City Tourism Office, the better option for visitors is to go underwater.
"We have almost saturated the tourism development and destinations on land. If they come for island hopping, then they should go underwater," said Lapu-Lapu City tourism officer Rudy Villanobos.
At present, Lapu-Lapu has seven marine sanctuaries, covering some 56 hectares. These are Tingo, Baring, Talima, Cawhagan, San Vicente, Dakit-dakit and Shangri-La.
"Dakit-dakit in Buyong is a good site for macrophotography. You will see a lot of pygmy seahorse and other tiny plants and animals," Community Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (CFARMC) head Pepe Berido shares.
Berido, who is also a diver, recalls memories of whale sharks visiting the area. But because of dynamite fishing and vessels passing through, the whales have stayed away.
Divers are also drawn to Tingo and Talima for the thresher sharks.
"It is almost guaranteed that they will see the sharks there," Berido says
The City Government is committed to protecting the marine environment that in 2005 it came up with a stewardship program. This allows local communities, marginal fishermen, private groups and non-government organizations to manage and safeguard the sanctuaries and designated protected areas for a certain period of time.
The Lapu-Lapu City Council, through an ordinance passed in November 2006, established the Shangri-La marine sanctuary, which covers five hectares from the resort's beachfront. (See separate story)
Among other plans lined up by the City Government is the banning of jet skis and wave runners, said City Administrator Ted Ybañez. Platforms, he said, will be put up at the edge of the reef for jet skiers.
Without necessarily going underwater, but still getting your feet and legs wet, head to the bird sanctuary in Olango island. There, close to 100 bird species, including the endangered Chinese egret, congregate from late September to March to escape the harsh winter.
The annual bird convention was discovered 20 years ago. The sanctuary was declared a Wetland of International Importance especially for Waterfowl Habitat on Nov. 8, 1994. It is also the first Ramsar site in the Philippines.
Since February this year, watching our feathered visitors is made easier by a footpath leading to the observation deck. Boy, the DENR warden, can guide tourists on where to point their binoculars. He also has stories to tell about the mating behavior of birds, including those without feathers who could not resist frolicking on the white sands in a nearby islet.
Set a date with the fishes, the birds and all creatures great and small in Mactan soon. They won't disappoint.
