Friday, November 30, 2007 P50M dolphin farm project hit
PLANS to establish a P50 million resort that would feature dolphins as major attraction have been criticized by two foreigners involved in the rehabilitation of Sarangani Bay.
British national Christopher Dearne scoffed at the project, which has gained ground in Sarangani town in Davao del Sur province and financed by an Iranian investor.
"Creating a dolphin facility of any kind out in Sarangani islands where bad weather stops regular boat trips, and there being no accommodation and only limited power [supply] seems like a strange place to put such a project," he said.
"It's the equivalent of putting a bar on top of Mount Matutum," added Dearne, referring to South Cotabato's landmark peak with an elevation of 2,286 meters above the sea level.
American national John Heitz, on the other hand, doubted if the resort would be viable and will attract tourists, also citing the accessibility of the place.
"It seems like a lot of money to invest in a project that is in an area that is very hard to get to. Who will spend the money and go there to see [the] dolphins? It will not make money like that," Heitz said.
"I have a suspicion that they will try to trap the wild dolphins. Then put them in the netted area. Then try to sell them to water parks, hotels and dolphin shows," he added.
Sarangani town Mayor Jerry Cawa said Iranian national Foad Akhavan has already poured at least P2 million for the resort's development in sitio Bulaki.
Without elaboration, Heitz said he met Akhavan last year in Tinoto, Maasim town in Sarangani province, one of the best diving spots within Sarangani Bay.
Akhavan could not be located for comment on the points raised by Dearne and Heitz, who have been deploying artificial reef domes in Sarangani Bay and the Celebes Sea for years together with Filipino scuba diving aficionados.
The group has so far submerged more than 4,000 artificial reef domes in the area to foster the growth of different kinds of corals, Dearne reported.
Cawa said based on the memorandum of agreement with the Iranian investor, the local government unit stands to get 10 percent of the net income once the project becomes operational.
Sarangani town, or more popularly known as Balut Island, is about a three-hour motorized-boat ride from General Santos City.
Cawa said the Iranian investor, who reportedly maintains a dolphin-breeding farm in Misamis Occidental, plans to also breed dolphins in the resort's 15-hectare facility. "Hopefully, our town would land in the tourism map of the
Philippines with sights of dolphins doing acrobatic acts amid the waves or ordinary people seeing or touching these friendly sea creatures," the mayor said.
Cawa said enclosure nets have already been put in place at the seafront to prevent the dolphins from escaping to the high seas.
But he clarified that there's still no dolphin inside those nets and that the investor might bring some from his farm in Misamis Occidental if they can't catch the creatures off the town's waters.
Acknowledging the accessibility problems of Sarangani town, Cawa called on passenger boat owners to ply the route regularly to also boost the economic growth of the impoverished town, stressing the completion of a P43-million port complex.
Commercial trip frequency from General Santos City to Sarangani town and vice versa is only once daily, usually during nighttime.
He cited that communication facilities are not anymore a problem now since Smart and Globe telecommunication companies have cellular sites in the town, where copra or dried coconut meat is the main agricultural product. (BSS)
