Sarangani Bay communities battle crown-of-thorns starfish outbreak
COASTAL communities around Sarangani Bay have been working together to collect crown-of-thorn (COT) starfish as an outbreak threatens coral reefs at the protected area.
Protected Area Superintended Joy C. Ologuin said teams composed of residents, local government workers and volunteers have collected over 100,000 of the COT starfish over the last three months.
“This is one of the worst COT breakouts not only in SBPS (Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape) but in the whole country,” Ms. Ologuin said in a statement Tuesday released Monday by the Environment department’s Soccsksargen regional office.
“The 101,323 COT collected do not include those collection efforts from volunteers during weekends.”
She called on other stakeholders, including businesses and civic organizations, to help as continued gathering is needed.
“We’re afraid that we may be losing our corals reefs if this is not abated.”
The Protected Area Management Office offers rice-for-work to encourage more community members to participate.
“(T)his problem should be addressed with urgency because our coral reefs are at stake,” said Maria Elvira V. Lumayag, head of Sarangani’s Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office.
COT starfish, according to the Australian Institute of Marine Science, “are marine invertebrates that feed on coral. They occur naturally on reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific region, and when conditions are right, they can reach plague proportions and devastate hard coral communities.”
Outbreaks since 1962 have “had a major impact on the many reefs that make up the Great Barrier Reef. A fourth outbreak is currently underway in the World-Heritage Area,” the institute said on its website. — MSJ
