Palawan – Travel Dive Connect

Posted on December 6, 2017 by Roda Novenario

Tubbataha 2017: For the Love of the Reef

This is the last installment of a 3-part write-up of my May 2017 trip to Tubbataha Reef Natural Park. My visit wouldn’t have been possible without the help of MY Sakura and Let’s Dive Palawan, as well as the management and team behind the Tubbataha Management Office (TMO), the Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board (TPAMB), and the Marine Park Rangers. Thank you! Also, special thanks to Kevin and Camille for letting me peek into their dive logs.

The currents are strong at Tubbataha Reef. These are brought about by tidal shifts and weather-driven surface currents. Divers feel it underwater, especially during dusk. Sometimes, you struggle against the current. Most of the time, you let yourself be taken away.

Typical surface current during our stay at the reef.

It can be overwhelming. But then, you remember that these currents are why sharks and other marine wonders are around. Their circulation pattern has also made the marine park Sulu Sea’s seed bank, increasing the fish biomass and income of neighboring fishing villages by 100% and 90%, respectively.

The impacts of protection are tangible. And, it’s not just in the eyes of divers and marine scientists. Stakeholders are feeling the difference too. This has buoyed the continued support for Tubbataha’s protected status.

Managing a Marine Treasure
At the center of all this is the Tubbataha Management Office (TMO), under the leadership of Angelique Songco. Angelique is a diving professional who took on the challenges of managing what is perhaps the most expansive and isolated marine protected area in the country.

Alongside the team, her TMO transformed what had been an ineffective co-existence of stakeholders, brought together only by bureaucratic declaration, into one that truly upholds the reef’s protection. The core belief that has driven her team to success is that the costs and benefits of protecting Tubbataha Reef should be shared equitably amongst stakeholders.

This ruffled some feathers at the start, particularly those directly affected by the fishing ban. But, as soon as nature was left to thrive, the bounties of nearby fishing areas increased. They also began to receive compensation from the donor community, as well as their share of diver and dive boat conservation fees.

It wasn’t smooth sailing, by any means. But somehow, the tides shifted towards change. The diverse sectors involved came to a deeper understanding of their crucial roles in the preservation of the reef. There was finally a realization that, in protecting Tubbataha Reef, they are protecting their own interests.

Fastcraft used by the marine park rangers.

Protecting Tubbataha Reef
A continuing challenge for TMO is safeguarding Tubbataha’s 97,030 hectares of ocean. Even with its protected mandate, there are still elements who dare to encroach to poach. In fact, 80% of the management’s funds go to law enforcement.

The municipality of Cagayancillo offers the first line of defense through its improved fisheries and fishing practices. With more than enough catch using sustainable fishing practices, local fishermen are less tempted to go into the protected areas.

The Marine Park Rangers, made up of members of the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard, provide the next (ultimate) level of protection. These are highly qualified uniformed men who went through TMO’s ecology/marine environment and park management course. The training program was developed to shift from the common military mindset of securing the country to securing fish and other wildlife.

According to Angelique: “We pay close attention to the reefs as most fishers do not fish in open ocean, where productivity is much less. There are 9 rangers in Tubbataha at one time, sometimes up to 12. They have done well, so far.

“We need to work around the limitations of installing people there year-round. Water is a major consideration even if we are surrounded by water. Space and the supplies are also issues. The Navy and Coast Guard are only able to assign a few people at a time. So far, that small contingent of marine park rangers has been successful in maintaining the values of the reefs.”

For the Love of the Reef
It is hard to doubt the success of the TMO. The team has changed minds and transformed hearts –moving people from poaching to protecting, from being takers to men and women who will give time and effort in making the conservation initiatives of the Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board work.

Perhaps this is how the tides move. After all, for those of us lucky enough to have visited this marine treasure, you can’t help but let the currents take you. You fall in love with the ocean, all over again. And, you will do all that you can to protect Tubbataha Reef.

MY Sakura’s Trip 11 2017 guests with the reef rangers. Photo used with permission from Peewee Bundang.

Sources:
Tubbataha Reefs: A Marine Protected Area That Works. WWF-Philippines. Quezon City, Philippines 2006

Email interview with Ms. Angelique Songco

How the Philippines’ Coral Heart Keeps Beating. Michael Greshko. National Geographics.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2017/11/tubbataha-coral-reef-philippines-unesco-world-heritage-site-sulu-sea/

Posted on December 6, 2017December 7, 2017 by Roda Novenario

Tubbataha 2017: Isolation

This is part 2 of a 3-part write-up of my May 2017 trip to Tubbataha Reef Natural Park. I joined MY Sakura and Let’s Dive Palawan’s 11th Tubbataha trip for the 2017 season.

Tubbataha Reef Natural Park lies at the center of the Sulu Sea. It is 150 kilometers southeast of Puerto Princesa (Palawan), the jump-off point for most Tubbataha liveaboards. My Tubbataha 2017 trip took 6 days and included 4 diving days.

Life on the Boat
A six-day trip would seem like forever if you were on a boat with people who didn’t get along. Fortunately, Team Pinoy and Team Foreigner got together like old friends, bonding over food, card games, booze, and our shared Tubbataha experience.

Team Pinoy was very Pinoy, indeed! I sat down with them for the first time at the boat’s outdoor lounge. Kevin had asked each guest to take their essentials; he needed to store the rest of our bags within the boat’s hull. So, the Manila-based barkada of Peewee, Kim and Sheryl brought out this huge box, half the size of a balikbayan box; and proceeded to empty it of snacks (local chips, chocolates, and candies) and a bottle of Tanduay rum. They stored the snacks and rum under the lounge’s table for easy access.

Of course, being Pinoy, they brought enough for everyone. The first snack was opened and shared within 10 minutes of emptying the box, as we waited for coast guard personnel. We had snacks after every meal (even when meals came with dessert), while on surface intervals, and during our nightly movie or card game get-togethers. We even had snacks to accompany the mid-afternoon snacks served by the kitchen crew. I loved it!

Camille provided the boat’s music, and I chuckled at watching the Kevin-Third-Camille love triangle unfold. Third’s the man in the middle – LOL! Kar Wai (a UK national of Chinese descent) and Gabriela (a Denmark-based South American woman) were like long-lost amigas. Luke was my drinking buddy but I could never keep up. He was on a mission to top his previous record of 83 cans of beer within 6 boat days. He succeeded – barely.

With MY Sakura’s crew and dive guests for their 11th Tubbataha 2017 trip. (Photo used with permission from Peewee Bundang)

Isolation
While it truly felt like home in the company of new friends, my favorite time was very early in the morning. This was our quiet time – a time when we settled into our wakefulness, alone.

I spent a part of it sitting in front of the boat, on the edge of one of its hulls. There would usually be birds diving for their morning meal a few meters away from me. Their squawks rang loud against the boat’s hushed tones. The sun awakened too; and from where I sat, I would just let it all sink in.

Isolation can be a blessing. For Tubbataha Reef, it has done wonders.

Cagayancillo, Tubbataha’s municipality, is 130 kilometers away. While motorized boats from this area, as well as Puerto Princesa and others, used to spend days in the reef to reap its bounty, this had since been disallowed when Tubbataha became the country’s first national marine park in 1988 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.

This gave Tubbataha the time, distance and legal support needed to reverse the creeping ravages of dynamite and cyanide fishing, and an encroaching commercial fishing industry. It was left alone; and, in isolation, it thrived.

Marine biologist John McManus of the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School said: “All of the signs are that Tubbataha Reef is nearing what we believe to be the true natural state….This is an amazing thing that’s happened.”

And we were witness to this. On our second and third dive days, we visited Shark Airport, Malayan Wreck, South Park/ Ranger Station and Black Rock.

We saw endless parades of reef sharks.

Sharks on parade. This went on for more than a minute. We couldn’t count the number of reef sharks we passed.

Malayan Wreck was a sight to behold – at only 5 meters deep, at that!

Schools of jacks, barracudas and tunas were everywhere.

A school of barracudas and the jack with a death wish.

Mantas and whalesharks left us wide-eyed and mesmerized.

With each dive, I took it all in: beauty borne from isolation, and the possibility for oceans to recover and thrive….

Sources:
Tubbataha Reefs: A Marine Protected Area That Works. WWF-Philippines. Quezon City, Philippines 2006

Email interview with Ms. Angelique Songco

Posted on December 6, 2017December 7, 2017 by Roda Novenario

Tubbataha 2017: Getting To Know

Towards the end of May 2017, I set out for Puerto Princesa, Palawan to join the crew of MY Sakura and Let’s Dive Palawan for their 11th Tubbataha trip of the 2017 season. It was my first time at Tubbataha Reef Natural Park. This is part 1 of a 3-part write-up.

On Our Way
I hardly slept the previous night, not because of anticipation – no. Our boat was on the move. We left the port of Puerto Princesa a couple of hours late, waiting for coast guard personnel to hop on to do their inspection.

A man on a seabike approached. I thought he was one of them, a guardian of the Philippine seas stripped of an adequate budget. Fortunately (or unfortunately), he was a Palaweno businessman. He said he was the first one to import the seabike into the country. We chatted a bit and promised to get in touch on Facebook.

It was around dusk when the coast guard finally came. Dive masters Third and Kevin were already done with their pre-trip briefing on accommodations and meal arrangements. Luke, an Australian who loved his alcohol, had opened one of his Don Papas. Fellow divers Peewee, Kim and I drank shots. Luke had cracked open his first beer.

Third and Kevin do their pre-departure briefing.

Around four coast guard men moved around the boat; they then took Let aside for a talk. Let was the lady boss at Let’s Dive. Along with her partner Dino, they managed the dive shop and boat.

Briefing with Dino at Puerto Princesa. Also pictured: Gabriela and Kim. Camille, Third and Luke are in the background.

We were to go through bad weather, according to the coast guard. They had deliberately delayed sending us off to spare us from the brunt of the storm.

True enough, twenty minutes into the trip, the setting sun was replaced by storm clouds. Rain began to pour. Drops became pellets, soaking the outdoor lounge/dining area/alternative sleeping quarters (yes, I am referring to one small open area), where we hung out.

That night, we all slept on our assigned beds. This was indoors; and because of my claustrophobia, it wasn’t that comfortable. Past midnight, I ventured outside and found a few of the guests sleeping in the open area. The rains had stopped and you just needed to dry off a couple of cushions.

I joined them and tried to sleep. The moving boat amplified the chill of the ocean breeze. Still, it was better than a closed-off bed. This would be my choice sleeping area for the rest of the trip.

The First Morning
We woke up at 6AM. Our boat was approaching the North Atoll of Tubbataha Reef, where the day’s dive sites were located. It was time to prepare for our first dive.

We were at the Jessie Beazly dive site, right next to its namesake island. Seabirds hovered above us. There were shrieks in the water. Only one other dive boat was there; and a couple of divers were done with their morning dive. We heard talks of a whale shark. I eagerly snarfed down my cup noodles. (Breakfast was served after the day’s first dive – I was hungry.)

The dive guests were divided into two groups; Third and Kevin each had a team. My crew – Luke, Kar Wai, Gabriela and I – was dubbed “Team Foreigner.” Let joined us in a few dives.

“Bakit naman ako nasama dito?” (“Why was I added to this group?”) I teased Third. Ah, but of course he would choose his partner, Camille, to complete Peewee, Kim and Sheryl, a diving barkada from Manila. Anyway, the foreign guests were a fun bunch.

We were all set; our gear, loaded onto the Team Foreigner rubber boat, and our boatman Mon was at the helm. On cue, we rolled over and did a negative descent into the realms of Tubbataha Reef.

Getting to Know Tubbataha Reef Natural Park
In a recent National Geographic article, UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre Marine Programme head Fanny Douvere said: “A photo can never capture what you actually experience (at Tubbataha).” I agree.

Tubbataha Reef Natural Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the only one that’s a natural marine park. It is around 97,030 hectares of ocean where marine biodiversity is most abundant on earth. It is home to 396 recorded coral species, 479 fish species, 10 seagrass species, 9 whale and dolphin species, 79 algae species, 7 species of breeding seabirds, and 2 of 7 marine turtle species. The marine park is marked by two of the largest true coral atoll formations in the country, the North and South Atolls, and the vastness around it. Sand cays and lagoons dot the area, offering shelter to seabirds and the Reef Rangers.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. Sharks in abundance, endless reefs alive with corals, majestic drop-offs and exciting ocean blue…. Every dive – even if it were at the same site – offered something amazing.

For our first day’s dives, I was struck by living corals as far as the eye can see. I had never seen reefs and seabeds with so much life.

I’d never seen so many shoaling and schooling fish.

A tigershark (my first) swam 10 meters below us. A silvertip shark (she was huge) greeted us at the drop-off.

Surface Intervals
I remembered each one’s excitement as we got back onto our rubber boat. “Did you see the tigershark?!” “Did you see the hammerhead?!” “Did you see the whaleshark?!” Did you see?! We were kids again, seeing the world with amazed eyes.

I noticed how Let, who’d probably gone to Tubbataha a hundred times, got visually excited underwater and on the surface. She would open her palms and clasp them together, as if in gratitude. She tailed whalesharks and took her time gazing at schools of barracudas. With Kar Wai, they went deeper in hopes of spotting a hammerhead. On the boat, you sensed joy in her voice, as we reported on what had happened, what we saw.

If there’s a best way to capture the wonders of Tubbataha Reef, it would be through the awe it inspires from its guests. It is a privilege to visit the reef and I would always grateful.

Sources:
Tubbataha Reefs: A Marine Protected Area That Works. WWF-Philippines. Quezon City, Philippines 2006

Email interview with Ms. Angelique Songco

Tag: Palawan

Tubbataha 2017: For the Love of the Reef

Tubbataha 2017: Isolation

Tubbataha 2017: Getting To Know

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