A team from the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office and the Provincial Information Office took on the role of “scubasurero” in an underwater cleanup drive for the preservation of coral reef and fish sanctuaries of Sarangani Bay in Glan, Sarangani. The activity was part of the buildup to the province-wide observance of the annual International Coastal Cleanup, the world’s largest volunteer effort for ocean’s health held every third Saturday of September. Sarangani Bay has been proclaimed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources as a Protected Seascape and listed as one of the country’s Key Marine Biodiversity Areas covering an area of 215,950 hectares and a 226.4-km coastline. Also declared by the Department of Tourism as a scuba diving haven, its coral resources cover more than 2,293 hectares spread in 20 areas, with about 60 important live hard coral genera, 411 reef species, and 11 species of seagrass in a 912-hectare area.

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