Malapascua eyed as shark sanctuary

CEBU, Philippines - Journalist and environment advocate Anna Oposa, daughter of environment lawyer Antonio Oposa Jr., is eyeing Malapascua Island in Daanbantayan, Cebu, as the site for the first thresher shark sanctuary in the Philippines.

Oposa said that she already has the support of Daanbantayan Mayor Ma. Luisa Loot for her proposal and the next thing to do is to get together with all the stakeholders.

“The creation of the shark sanctuary will establish your municipality as a leader in marine conservation, enhancing the country’s reputation in the international tourism community,” said Oposa in a letter to Loot.

Oposa was able to attend the Senate hearing last April 18 regarding the proposal bill to declare Malapascua Island as an eco-tourism site sponsored by Cebu fourth district Rep. Benhur Salimbangon in the House of Representatives.

The bill has been redrafted for second hearing and Oposa was required to submit her recommendations to the Senate regarding the proposal. At the Senate, Oposa met Salimbangon and some town officials who attended the hearing.

Oposa hopes to work closely with the local government of Daanbantayan for a multi-stakeholders approach towards the protection and conservation of its municipal waters, particularly of the thresher sharks.

She noted that thresher sharks in Monad Shoal off Malapascua Island have become vulnerable to fishing, finning and destructive fishing methods.

Oposa herself heard several explosions from dynamite fishing while on a leisure dive at the area.

Scuba divers visiting and observing live thresher sharks pay amounts that collectively draw in over P6 million per year fuelling about 80 percent of the regional economy, said Oposa.

“I trust these numbers have reached your kind office. Their loss could mean the collapse of an economy,” said Oposa in her letter to Loot.

Oposa, 24, from Bantayan Island, is the first Filipino recipient of the prestigious 2012 Future for Nature Award, which she received last March 22, 2012 in Arnhem, the Netherlands.

Oposa is a co-founder of Save Philippine Seas, an independent movement to protect the world’s marine resources by harnessing the power of social media and lobbying for the strict enforcement of environmental laws.

They are instrumental in filing House Bill 5412 also known as Shark’s Fin Bill in October 2011 and the Senate Bill 2616 sponsored by Sen. Loren Legarda which aims to ban the catching of sharks and rays and the sale of their derivatives and by-products.  (FREEMAN)