National Committee on Marine Sciences (NCMS)
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- Spatial variation in the benthic community structure of a coral reef system in the central Philippines: Highlighting hard coral, octocoral, and sponge assemblagesLalas, Jue Alef A.; Manzano, Geminne G.; Desabelle, Lee Arraby B.; Baria-Rodriguez, Maria Vanessa (Elsevier, 2023-07)Coral reefs are complex habitats that contain very high biodiversity and provide different ecosystem services. In the Coral Triangle, however, various major benthic components are still understudied. This can limit our understanding of coral reef community dynamics, especially in the presence of a changing climate coupled with local disturbances (e.g., decreased water quality). This study describes the benthic community structure of an ecologically and economically important coral reef system in the central Philippines through characterizing the assemblages of three major components (hard corals, octocorals, and sponges) among sites and stations with varying environmental conditions (i.e., exposure to monsoons, water quality levels). Results reveal significant variations in the mean percentage covers of hard corals, octocorals, and sponges at the site and station levels (ANOVA, p < 0.05), with hard corals dominating in Site 1, which is more exposed to the southwest monsoon, and Site 3, which is an embayed and unexposed site with low water quality, while soft corals dominated in Site 2, which is more exposed to the northeast monsoon. Multivariate analyses also revealed significant variations in the benthic community structure at different spatial scales (ANOSIM, p < 0.05). Interestingly, even stations within a site had significant variations in community structure, with different taxa being dominant. This study highlights the importance of conducting more detailed analyses of understudied taxa (i.e., octocorals and sponges) during coral reef surveys to improve our understanding of coral reef community dynamics that is very important for management.
- Oil spill reaches Verde Island PassageMallari, Delfin Jr; Virola, Madonna; Mangosing, Frances (Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc., 2023-03-21)Traces of oil spill from the sunken MT Princess Empress had reached Verde Island, a six-village islet in Batangas City, which is at the heart of the Verde Island Passage (VIP) where the world’s most critical marine biodiversity center is found, authorities said on Monday. In an advisory, Fr. Edwin Gariguez, lead convenor of the environmentalist group Protect the Verde Island Passage, said they were ready to assist in containing the spill in VIP after residents reported seeing oil sheen and clumps in waters off four villages of Verde Island
- Oriental Mindoro to be placed under state of calamityCabrera, Romina; Ramirez, Robertzon (Philippine Star Printing Co., Inc., 2023-03-31)Oriental Mindoro Gov. Humerlito Dolor wants the entire province placed under a state of calamity due to the oil spill from the sunken motor tanker Princess Empress. Dolor said he directed the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office to prepare a recommendation for the calamity declaration in view of latest situational reports from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Department of Health.
- DA-BFAR retains fishingban in Oriental MindoroSausa, Radee (Concept & Information Group, Inc., 2023-04-13)The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has recommended keeping the fishing ban in oil spill-hit municipalities in Oriental Mindoro. The Department of Agriculture (DA-BFAR) has been monitoring the situation in fishing areas affected by the recent oil spill. Fish samples collected and analyzed from select sites in Oriental Mindoro on March 10 showed low-level contaminants or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).
- 84% of oil spill affected shoreline 'cleaned'(Sun • Star Publishing, 2023-05-14)Over 84 percent of the coastline affected by the oil spill in the waters off Oriental Mindoro due to a sunken oil tanker has already been cleaned up. In a report to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said as of May 10, of the 74.71 kilometers of affected coastline, 62.95 kilometers, or 84.26 percent which covers the municipalities of Bongabong, Roxas, Mansalay, Bulalacao, San Teodoro, Baco, and Puerto Galera, has been cleaned.
- P114m in oil spill claims filedAraja, Rio (Philippine Manila Standard Publishing, Inc., 2023-07-09)An initial batch of 3,457 victims from the fisheries sector has so far filed a combined P114 million in financial compensation claims for the economic losses that they suffered due to the MT Princess Empress oil spill, Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, a member of the House committee on ecology, said on Sunday. “Those figures from the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds, or IOPC Funds, are very preliminary. Additional claims from capture fishery alone have probably been submitted by now, but have not been aggregated and reported yet,” Pimentel said.
- Coast Guard: Capsized dredger sinks, spills oil off Bataan watersDantes, Charles (Philippine Manila Standard Publishing, Inc., 2023-05-08)The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Sunday that the capsized MV Hong Hai 189 has sunk in waters off Mariveles, Bataan, and released about 30 to 50 liters of oil and other mixed substances. The MV Hong Hai, a Sierra Leone-registered dredger, sank 400 yards away from Sisiman Lighthouse in Mariveles at around 5:21 a.m. on Saturday, after colliding with the MT Petite Soeur, a a Marshall Island-flagged chemical and oil product tanker in the waters off Corregidor Island.
- Oil spill-affected Mindoro coastal towns to get fishing ground sharing schemeAtlenza, Kyle Aristophere (BusinessWorld Publishing Corporation, 2023-05-05)The National Government will provide a fishing ground sharing scheme for coastal towns in Oriental Mindoro that are still affected by a major oil spill from a sunken fuel tanker. The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources “will adopt a cluster approach to ensure that all affected fisherfolk will have a place to go and congestion in one fishing area will be avoided,” DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr. said in a statement.
- In Or. Mindoro, fishing ban off in 7 areas, stays in 6Virola, Madonna (Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc., 2023-05-09)Oriental Mindoro Gov. Humerlito Dolor on Monday lifted the fishing ban in at least seven towns in the province, saying the coastal waters in these areas were already “within acceptable standards” for fishing activities based on recent sample tests. The fishing ban, however, will stay in the waters of the capital Calapan City and in the towns of Naujan, Pola, Pinamalayan, Gloria and Bansud “due to the risk of contamination by the oil” that continued to linger in the waters off these areas, Dolor said.