OVER SEAS -- The Online Magazine for Sustainable Seas

Sarangani

The learning area covers three municipalities (Alabel, Malapatan and Glan) along the 125-km coastline of Sarangani Bay, the municipalities of Maasim, Maitum and Kiamba, and one chartered city (General Santos City), or a total of 267 km of coastline, 67 barangays and a population of nearly 200,000 persons (1995). Coastal management problems identified here are typical of fast developing coastal areas. Most land areas have been converted to agriculture and fishponds, and very little of the coastal land retains natural vegetation. As a result, the Bay suffers from sedimentation. High fishing pressure has also been noted, and there are reports of the use of toxic substances and fine mesh nets, as well as the catching of juvenile fishes in some areas. CRMP enjoys strong local government support, which could very well spell the difference between sustainable development and further degradation of coastal resources in the area.

Bay Profile Ready By End-May
Learning Area Coordinator (LAC) Hermenegildo Cabangon reported steady progress in the preparation of village-level and municipal-level coastal environment profiles in CRMP’s Sarangani Bay Learning Area. The profiles, which contain specific information about the condition of the coastal environment in the communities, were generated through the participatory coastal resource assessment (PCRA) activities undertaken as part of CRMP. They will be used for planning and management purposes in the learning areas.

LAC Cabangon said the Sarangani team is now consolidating both primary and secondary data into the village-level profiles and should be ready to submit the Bay-wide profile to the CRMP head office in Cebu by the end of May.

Also this month, eight marine biology students from the Mindanao State University (MSU) started their on-the-job training in four components of CRMP: research, capability-building, IEC and enterprise development.

Enterprise Opportunities

Photo by Toni Parras, CRMP

Experimental seaweeds and fish cage projects will start soon in Glan and Maasim, respectively. The projects are part of CRMP’s Enterprise Development Component, which recently scanned the area for enterprise and livelihood development opportunities. "These areas are most conducive to seaweed farming and fish cages as the sea here is calm year-round," said LAC Cabangon. "Also, the local governments, especially in Sapu Cove, have been highly supportive of coastal management efforts in their communities."

Meanwhile, one more Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management Council (FARMC) was organized, bringing the total FARMCs in this CRMP Learning Area to eight.

MSU Dugong In CRMP Exhibit
LAC Cabangon is also working out the possible loan by MSU of a stuffed dugong or sea cow in its collection. If plans push through, the six-foot sea cow, which was found dead in Sarangani Bay by MSU researchers in August last year, will become part of CRMP’s traveling "Our Seas, Our Life" Exhibit which was first shown at SM Cebu City last February 15-March 15. The Exhibit will be mounted at the SM Mega Mall in Pasig City, Metro Manila on June 4 to July 20 and then at Silliman University, Dumaguete City in August in celebration of the university’s Founder’s Day, and later in Davao City and General Santos City.

Sarangani Bay has an extensive seagrass area, which serves as a feeding ground for the sea cow, an endangered species. §