Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project

Southern Leyte Coral Reef
Conservation Project (LRCP)
Monthly Project Update
July 2016
Location: Napantao Dive Resort, Napantao, San Francisco,
Southern Leyte
Project Scientist: Darienne Lancaster
lrcp@coralcay.org
LRCP Project Aim
The Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project (LRCP) is a
collaborative project to protect the coral reefs of Sogod Bay, providing
training and conservation education opportunities for local Filipinos, as
part of an integrated programme to develop local capacity and
ensure the long-term protection and sustainable use of marine
resources throughout the region. Coral Cay Conservation (CCC) is
working at the invitation of and in partnership with the Provincial
Government of Southern Leyte (PGSL). CCC provides the resources to
help sustain livelihoods and alleviate poverty through the protection,
restoration and management of coral reefs and tropical forests.
Contents

Latest news

Story of the Month

Educational &
Community Projects

Survey Update

Marine Scholarship
News

Marine Creature of the
month
Latest News
CCC welcomes Charles Eve, Scuba Instructor
Since first diving back in 2008 in a little inland quarry and
deciding it was his passion, Charles has endeavoured to gain
experience across the world. He got his first taste of conservation in the
Indian Ocean off the coast of South Africa, where he quickly decided
sharing this knowledge would be his goal. His professional career
began in Indonesia where he worked for several months, becoming a
Divemaster, whilst also building artificial reefs. He then headed off to
Australia’s east coast to become an instructor, and then a Master
Scuba Diver Trainer. His passion for the largest Whale shark to the
smallest Nudibranch has found him joining CCC to help preserve them
all for those who love and need the ocean.
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Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project
Philippines, May 2016
Story of the Month
Napatao Community Day and Presentation of Survey Results
On July 25th Barangay officials and community
members from Napantao arrived at the Coral Cay
Conservation base for a day of games, marine
education, and a presentation of survey results from the
2015 assessment of the Napantao Marine Protected
Area.
After a scavenger hunt and marine themed
charades the group settled in for lectures on coral biology
and lifeforms, native fish species, threats to coral reefs,
and ways to protect them. Coral Cay volunteers and staff
took turns lecturing and sharing their love of the oceans
with the local visitors.
The MPA Egg game, which involves protecting a raw Community day participants acting out a
egg with found materials before the opposite team sea snake during a game of charades
- photo D. Lancaster
smashes it against the ground, was also a big hit.
Project Scientist, Darienne Lancaster, also
gave a presentation of results from the 2015
assessment of the Napantao MPA. Overall the reef
is very healthy but there is no difference in fish
abundance inside compared to outside the MPA
and there are no big fish in the area. This suggests
the MPA is not as effective as it could be if
enforcement was increased and fishing pressure
decreased. Barangay Officials requested maps of
the MPA boundaries be posted at the Barangay
Office and on the beach so local fishers know
Volunteer Gareth Turner explaining coral lifeforms
where the MPA starts and ends.
- photo G. Turner
The day was topped
off by a snorkel adventure
along the Napantao house
reef. The snorkelers visited
Anemone City to see the
clown fish and pointed out
all the coral lifeforms they
learned about during the
morning presentations.
Snorkelers and CCC staff and volunteers
heading into the water
- photo C. Ogg
Barangay police officer protecting his
MPA egg in a tin cup
- photo D. Lancaster
Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project
Philippines, May 2016
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Education and Community Projects
Dive Against Debris at Ghost Town Dive Site
On July 23rd volunteers Danielle Contrada and
Rachel Pederson headed to Ghost Town dive site in
Barangay Santa Paz, San Francisco for a dive against
debris. Dive against debris is an important way to
prevent human trash from affecting coral reefs.
Plastics can smother corals and choke animals like
turtles that often eat them by accident. The divers
managed to collect over 40 pieces of trash in a single
dive. Items collected included pots, a toy truck, a
baking tray, plastic bags, and hard plastic debris.
Great work keeping our oceans clean!
Volunteer Danielle Contrada collecting a
discarded rice sack at Ghost Town
– photo R. Pederson
Sea Stars Education at San Francisco High School
On July 22nd Community Liason Officer Jesse
Tinapay and volunteer Alex Wady visited CAASAFI
High School in San Francisco to give the first of three
Sea Stars marine education lectures. Jesse and
Alex taught students in two difference classes
about the marine life they can find in the oceans
near them as well as talking about threats to the
oceans and tools to protect the marine
environment. This first lecture qualified the two
groups of students as Bronze Star level Sea Stars.
Community Liason Officer Jessey Lou Tinapay and
volunteer Alex Wady teaching a Sea Stars lecture
in San Francisco
– photo A. Wady
With each consecutive lecture the students
will move up a level, eventually arriving as Gold Star
Sea Stars, at which point the students will be invited
to the CCC base in Napantao to participate in a
Reef Rangers day. Jesse, Alex, and the students had
a great day playing games and learning about the
ocean creatures and coral reefs that surround their
town.
- photo A. Wady
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Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project
Philippines, May 2016
Survey Monthly Update
Survey background: Since January 2013, survey efforts have been focused on assessing
potential and existing Marine Protected Areas in Sogod Bay to provide appropriate management
recommendations. To do this CCC uses an expanded version of the Reef Check protocol, which
has been customised to perfectly fit our work in Sogod Bay. Prior to this a baseline appraisal of marine
resources in Sogod Bay was carried out. If you would like more information about our surveying
please contact our Project Scientist, Darienne Lancaster.
We completed our survey of the proposed Cuasi MPA site. This is now the second Protected
Area Management Enhancement (PAME) Project proposed MPA site that Coral Cay Conservation
has successfully surveyed. PAME proposes to create between 12 and 20 new MPAs by the end of
2016. Cuasi was a beautiful site with a wide diversity of corals, invertebrates, and fishes.
The Coral Cay survey team is still working on our third PAME sites at Dinahugan in Padre Burgos.
This site is dominated by sand, but it has numerous invertebrates like feather stars and fire urchins,
and many small patches of healthy coral. Hawksbill sea turtles also frequent the area. However,
this site also has a large number of Crown of Thorns starfish, which can voraciously predate healthy
coral.
Scientific reports from all of CCC’s sites around the world are available on our website at
http://www.coralcay.org/science-research/scientific-reports
Photos from Dinahugan proposed MPA in Padre Burgos.
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Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project
Philippines, May 2016
Marine Scholarship News
Each month CCC offers Filipino nationals who display an ambition to study and protect the
vital marine ecosystems of the Philippines an opportunity to take part in our Marine Conservation
Scholarship. The programme lasts for one month and involves training in SCUBA diving to the level of
PADI Advanced Open Water. Scholars then take part in an intensive Skills Development Programme
giving them the knowledge and expertise to conduct sub-marine surveys of the coastline.
This month we are introducing our two scholars, Angelie Cabales and Jay Ann Quileste.
Angelie and Jay Ann are both recent graduates from SLSU in Sogod where they studied marine
biology. Both girls are Southern Leyte locals who will put their new surveying skills to good work here
in their local waters of Sogod Bay.
If you would like to apply for the CCC Marine Conservation Scholarship programme or read more
about it, please visit: http://www.coralcay.org/volunteer/scholarship-opportunities/
“My expedition at Coral Cay Conservation was so amazing! My
stay there was good, but at first, I find it difficult, I did some
adjustments and eventually I able to understand and fit in to the
people around me. The people behind CCC are very friendly and
accommodating. They are very artistic, helpful, optimistic and
best encourager. They helped me conquer my fears and replace
it with lots of confidence through the trainings. I have also learned
additional knowledge on marine creatures as well as their
environment and I had great experiences with my co-scholars and
trained divers that are treasured. In addition, I gained new skills
that are very useful in my future career. I am very thankful to Coral
Cay Conservation team and to their project partners for
accepting me to their scholarship programme.”
- Angelie Cabales
Angelie Cabales
“In my stay at CCC, I gained a lot of knowledge including diving
skills. I experience the real world under the sea. At the same time
I enjoy and I learned. There is a big difference in just studying
inside a class than in actual studying in underwater, you will be
acquainted to different species and you will explore the beauty
underneath. Not just that, I also learned how to mingle new
people in other race, make new circle of friends and developed
in building friendship with other people especially from foreigners
where Language Barrier is really a problem but it was an
enjoyable and great experience to remember. My message to
them that we thank them a lot for the knowledge experiences
and that they will continue to enhance the skills of many scholars
like me and continue to support marine life conservation here in
the Philippines.”
- Jay Ann Quileste
Jay Ann Quileste
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Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project
Philippines, May 2016
Marine Creature of the Month!
Our creature of the month is the Fire Urchin (Astropyga radiata)
and its friend the Coleman Shrimp (Periclimenes colemani). Fire Urchins
and Coleman shrimp have a special symbiotic relationship. Fire Urchins
have poisonous spines, which the Coleman Shrimp depends upon for
protection. Coleman Shrimp usually clear away some of the urchins’
spines to make a small space to live. They help the Fire Urchin by
keeping them clean and eating the algae and parasites that grow on
it.
Fire Urchins can also live on the back a crab (Dorippe frascone),
which protects the crab and carries the urchins more quickly to new
areas where they can access fresh food sources. Many juvenile fish also
live in the spines of these urchins. Although Fire Urchins are poisonous,
they do not cause serious injury to humans and their bright, beautiful
colours make them easy to see underwater.
Learn More!
To learn more about the CCC Philippines project, to join the expedition, or
to find out about local marine scholarships, visit www.coralcay.org