Apo Reef National Park : Jewel of Mindoro

Apo’s reef fish can finally breathe easier now that a new resolution has been passed. Starting on the 2nd of October 2007, all extractive activities such as fishing, collection and harvesting of any life form will be completely banned from within the park. Ordinance No. 01 was the Apo Reef Protected Area Managemant Board's (PAMB) first law for 2007 and declares the whole of Apo Reef a ‘no-take zone’ – to allow the reef and its residents ample time to recover from years of fishing.

Dwarfed only by Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Apo Reef Natural Park (ARNP) is situated 15 nautical miles west of the Philippine municipality of Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro. It is a major component of the earth’s coral triangle, spanning a total of 27,469ha – 15,792ha for the actual reef and 11,677ha as a protective buffer zone. Just over 30 years ago, the park was one of the world’s premier diving destinations. Godofreido Mintu, Mayor of Sablayan and key to the park’s newfound protection, recalls, “Granted, everyone wanted to see its reefs, but it was much more than that. The entire coast was also a vast fishing ground. Even during the height of its destruction in the 1980s, you could still catch a basket-load of fish in minutes. It truly was the "jewel of Mindoro.”

In biodiversity terms, the numbers are impressive. At least 385 species of fish, from the diminutive Bicolor Blenny to the spellbinding Emperor Angelfish, frolic amidst 190 coral, 26 algae and seven seagrass species. Larger residents and transients include the Manta Ray, Sperm Whale and various types of sea turtle. Sea birds too, are well represented, with at least 46 migratory and resident species, including the famed Nicobar Pigeon, roosting regularly on Apo’s three main islands.

In 2003, another assessment was made. Coral cover was back at 43%. In 2006 it rose to 52%. And if a 20% increase in 13 years isn’t good enough, bigger and bigger fish are returning. “A few months back, divers saw a school of over a hundred Scalloped Hammerhead sharks,” recalls Duquil. Groups of Manta and Eagle Rays have been sighted in ever-higher concentrations. Even giants like the Whaleshark and Sperm Whale are being seen regularly, an indicator that biodiversity levels are returning: and a reef’s biodiversity is a prime indicator of its resiliency – its ability to deal with future threats.In time, the increased fish-stocks generated by the recovering reefs should be more than enough to seed outlying areas sustainably. Adds Mintu, “Nature has its own process of recovering, but it should be aided by human intervention. In the end, everyone will win.”

For more information,

please contact:John Manul

Sablayan Project Manager,

WWF - Philippinesjmanul@wwf.org.ph

Gregg Yan

Information, Education & Communications Officer,

WWF-Philippines920-7923/26/31, 0917-833-4734

gyan@wwf.org.ph