credit to wwf.org.my
The Shark Fin Trade
One in two shark fins traded globally enter Hong Kong. And every year up to 73 million sharks could be killed for this trade. This demand has driven overexploitation of shark species worldwide and in 2010, over 180 shark and related species were considered by IUCN, the World Conservation Union, as “threatened”.
Original Source : The Shark Fin Trade wwf.org.my
Hong Kong Seafood
What does one do in Hong Kong? Dine on fine seafood of course. After all, the city is one of the most important trade hubs of live reef food fish, including species such as groupers and wrasses which are mostly sourced from the Coral Triangle.
To counter the dramatic decline of these species, WWF is educating seafood consumers while working with seafood businesses to rely on legal, sustainable sources of live reef food fish. As a result of this project, a number of restaurants have worked with WWF to design seafood menus according to WWF-Hong Kong Seafood Guide.
Original Source : Hong Kong Seafood wwf.org.my
Tubbataha Reef Uncovered
If you were to cram into one place everything that makes the underwater world so extraordinary and beautiful, you may very well end up with one of the Coral Triangle’s crown jewels—Tubbataha Reef in the Philippines.
Tubbataha Reef lies in the middle of the Sulu Sea, approximately 150 km southeast of Puerto Princesa City in Palawan, the most western province of the Philippines. Its coral atoll began to form thousands of years ago as fringing reefs of volcanic islands. As the volcanoes became extinct and the islands sunk below the sea, only the corals remained.
Because of its distance from the mainland, Tubbataha has been spared from fishing pressure that has decimated nearby areas along the coast. The reef is reachable only by boat, a journey which takes 10 to 12 hours and is only attempted from mid-March to mid-June. All these factors make Tubbataha reef one of the best—although remote—dive spots in the Philippines, if not in the Coral Triangle.
Fishermen in the Southern Philippines have known about Tubbataha for generations, embarking from their villages in small fleets of traditional wooden sailboats every summer for their annual Tubbataha fishing expeditions. By the 1980’s these traditional sailboats were disappearing to be replaced by motorized boats travelling from ever-increasing distances to grab a share of Tubbataha’s fishing wealth. Not only was this putting Tubbataha at risk, but also nearby areas as the reef is a major source of coral and fish larvae that seed the greater Sulu Sea.
Alarmed by the decline of Tubbataha’s spectacular coral reef, a small group of divers and environmentalists launched a vigorous campaign to save the reef. In 1988, the Provincial Government of Palawan endorsed the idea, and President Corazon Aquino declared Tubbataha a National Marine Park. In 1992, the site was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Today, WWF continues its conservation work in Tubbataha Reef, making sure that this ecosystem can sustain itself and neighbouring areas for generations to come.
Original source : Tubbataha Reef Uncovered wwf.org.my
The biggest fish in the world
Despite its intimidating name, the whale shark is not aggressive toward people and usually is indifferent to curious divers. That doesn’t mean you should get too close; an accidental blow from the whale shark’s powerful tail has caused serious injury.
This species’ massive, plane-like body reaches lengths in excess of 14 m and can weigh up to 12 tonnes—just its’ mouth can reach up to 1.4 m in width. Distinctive light-yellow random stripes and dots mark its very thick dark gray skin.
A filter feeder, the whale shark sieves enormous amounts of plankton to eat through its gills as it swims. Every hour, the shark can process over 6000 litres of water (the equivalent of 4,000 water bottles)!
Although they have approximately 3,000 tiny teeth (each less than 6 mm in length), these teeth are not used while feeding. Instead, the whale shark ingests large amounts of water through its mouth and expels the water through its gills, which sieve prey items as small as 1 mm. They are able to open their mouth to a great width (greater than 1 m) to optimise feeding.
The whale shark, which is found in tropical and temperate waters world-wide, is regarded as highly migratory—although these 'migration patterns' are poorly understood. What we do know is that the species is generally a solitary creature, swimming at speeds of no more than 5 km per hour. It is also very rare. Prior to the mid-1980s, there had been less than 350 confirmed reports of whale sharks worldwide. Today, it is listed as 'vulnerable' by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
In support of whale sharks, WWF-Indonesia has established a monitoring network for whale sharks in the Bird’s Head area of Papua as part of the management of Cendrawasih Bay Marine Protected Area, Papua. This aims to build capacity for whale shark conservation and management-related research for local organisations, university, park authority and dive operators.
The species is also a common sight around Donsol (Bicol region), in the Philippines. For over a decade, WWF has been assisting the local government to conserve this gentle giant through a community-based eco-tourism scheme and practical coastal resource management programme. Whale shark tourism is now Bicol Region's most popular tourist activity and was cited by TIME magazine as the best animal encounter destination in Asia.
Original source : The biggest fish in the world wwf.org.my
The Coral Triangle, a biological supermarket running out of stock?
For Azhar, a cucumber fisherman off the West coast of Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, the complex interactions of greenhouse gases, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and the distribution of regional energy are far removed from his daily concerns. And yet, these forces are shaping the local climate in new, unpredictable ways, that are directly affecting his livelihood.
With the impacts of climate change making themselves increasingly felt in the Coral Triangle, millions of people like Azhar who make a living from the sea are no longer able to rely on centuries-old ways of life. It is people like him who are on the front-lines of climate change, and who are witnessing the impacts of climate change first hand.
Climate change in the Coral Triangle is already having a big impact on coastal ecosystems as a result of warming, acidifying and rising seas. From Indonesia to the Solomon Islands, many reefs have experienced severe bleaching and mortality as temperatures have periodically soared. Around the coastal areas of the Coral Triangle, the seas are warming significantly (0.09-0.12 °C per decade), and if left unchecked, could increase by 1-4°C toward the end of this century.
The consequences of such changes could be disastrous. According to a report published in 2009 by WWF and the University of Queensland, the ability of the Coral Triangle’s coastal environments to feed people will decline by 80%, and the livelihoods of around 100 million people will have been lost or severely impacted by 2100--including for fisher folk such as Azhar.
Here in Borneo, Azhar’s concerns are more focused on today. “Usually, I observe the weather at dusk or in the early evening to predict whether it is going to rain or be stormy at night,” he explains. “But nowadays, it is getting harder to predict the weather accurately. For example, early evening yesterday I predicted that there would be no rain at night, but around midnight and early morning heavy rain came down.”
Thankfully, there is a silver lining. Although coastal ecosystems face enormous pressures from both local and global environmental factors, many areas are actually tougher than we initially thought--scientists call this ‘ecological resilience’. In fact, many ecosystems in the Coral Triangle could survive climate change because they have such extraordinary levels of biodiversity, and fast rates of growth and recovery.
Resilient areas may resist better to the impacts of climate change, but it is crucial that human disturbance to these areas is minimized to ensure they survive. This is where WWF and partners come in. Using the best science available, the conservation organization helps to identify and set aside marine protected areas with the participation of local ‘stakeholders’, from villages to local authorities.
The hope is that these areas do not cease to function as biological powerhouses that provide a haven for fish, a refuge for coral reef--and a reserve of marine natural resources for people like Azhar.
Original source : The Coral Triangle, a biological supermarket running out of stock? www.org.my
Save The Coral Triangle. Buy Spot NOW
