Apo Island is a volcanic island covering 74 hectares in land area, 7 kilometers off the southeastern tip of Negros Island and 30 kilometers south of the Negros Oriental capital of Dumaguete in the Philippines. The name "Apo" means "elder" or "respected ancestor" in the Visayan languages.
From beds of colourful soft corals in the shallows, to huge gorgonian sea fans, barrel sponges and branching Acropora found in the deep, Apo is a centre of marine biodiversity.
The reef acts as a nursery to many of the threatened reef species and allows fish to mature without the threat of being harvested.
The marine habitat around the island is a marine reserve, protected by the National Integrated Protected Area Act (NIPA) and under the jurisdiction of the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB).
The protection of the healthy area of coral also means that there will be a high rate of larval recruitment from healthy reefs. The larvae may then spill outside the sanctuary bounds and establish new coral elsewhere.
It has become a popular dive site and snorkeling destination with tourists. There are two resorts on Apo Island, each with a dive center: Apo Island Beach Resort and Liberty's Lodge. There is also a ranger station and a lighthouse. Today it is amongst the top 100 dive sites in the world and scuba diving is a massive source of income for the community of Apo Island (Van Beukering et al., n.d.).
Apo Island is located in the central Philippines and is approximately 1km2 in size.
The Apo Island Marine Sanctuary was established in 1982 (ICCA Registry, 2010). It came into proposition due to notably declining fish stocks that were being exploited due to destructive fishing practices, such as dynamite fishing. The fisherman increased their working hours, and practices such as dynamite and cyanide fishing became more extensive in response to the declining stocks (Marten, n.d.).
The project was started when Dr. Angel Alcala, a marine scientist from the Silliman University Marine Laboratory introduced to the local fishermen the importance of creating a marine sanctuary in the area.
Assisted by the staff of the SU Marine Laboratory in 1982, the local fishermen selected an area along 450 meters of shoreline and extending 500 meters from shore as the sanctuary site.
The project initiated on the island led to the creation of hundreds of other marine sanctuaries in the Philippines.
The goal of this no-take reserve is to increase fish populations and overall biodiversity in the region.
Apo Island Marine Sanctuary is almost completely managed by local fishermen. After the fishermen adopted and understood the findings outlined by researchers at Silliman University, they formed the Marine Management Committee (MMC, later known as PAMB).
The National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS) consisting of members from national, provincial, municipal and local levels - has the ultimate say into what goes on in the marine sanctuary, though they need little involvement due to the success that the locals have had in managing this resource.
With technical support from a coastal resource management organization, the fishermen set up a Marine Management Committee and formulated regulations against destructive fishing and encroachment of fishermen from other areas on their fishing grounds:
Limited fishing Areas - They concluded that fishing restrictions over the island’s entire fishing grounds should be able to increase fish numbers there as well.
Establishment of Marine Guard - They established a local “marine guard” (bantay dagat) consisting of village volunteers to police the fishing grounds.
Boat Inspection - The main task of the marine guards today is to check boats that enter their fishing grounds from other areas.
Some of the personal conflicts, political factions, complaints about government, and many other things typical of human society:
Economic Distribution - Many feel that the economic benefits of tourism, which go mainly to the hotel owners, should be distributed more evenly.
Locals had no control over funds - While participation in the national sanctuary program has reinforced the status of the Apo Island sanctuary and provided networking benefits, it also means island fishermen no longer have complete control of sanctuary management or funds that come from diving and snorkeling fees.
Limited Visitors - Limits are put around the number of visitors and dives on the reef each year to minimize stress on fish and accidental breakages of coral (Marten, n.d.).
Diver Conflict - There has been some conflict between the tourism industry and local fishermen, as the fishermen believe that divers cause fish to scatter and make them harder to catch - as a result no dives are permitted within 50m of fishing activity and diving is prohibited on the best fishing grounds(ICCA Registry, 2010).
Tropical Marine Protected Areas: Apo Island Marine Sanctuary. (n.d.). Tropical Marine Protected Areas. https://scalar.usc.edu/works/tropical-marine-protected-areas/app-island-marine-sanctuary?fbclid=IwAR0bAXkTgErkZCkLiCK_w-5xSYkwAeZ46uMULNftaoNGW9T0TFJ-6pEocMc
Marine Sanctuary: Restoring a Coral-Reef Fishery and a Cherished Way of Life (Apo Island, Philippines) | The EcoTipping Points Project. (2021, April 14). The EcoTipping Points Project | Turning Damaged Environmental Cycles Into Healthy Ecological Systems. https://ecotippingpoints.com/our-stories/indepth/philippines-apo-marine-sanctuary-coral-reef-fishery/
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