Saving the oceans

I was always scared of the water because I once almost drowned…in a swimming pool at that. I passed my Physical Education class in UP by floating in the water for 10 minutes (swimming was a requirement for all), not with freestyle or backstroke. I never took to diving or even snorkeling. So how do we promote saving the oceans if I cannot even stay farther than five meters from the shore? You get professionals who are almost like mermaids because they live and breathe oceans.

I recently realized that saving the oceans is not just about preservation of the food chain or saving sharks and rays. It is also keeping garbage away from it. Solid waste management and clean oceans are related.

I remember staying in a rented yacht (which was actually a small boat) overnight and imagining how sailors live. I would rather stay on land because you do not know what is in the water, you do not know what lies beneath this vessel you are sleeping in.

I recently spoke with two “mermaids” – Anna Oposa and Atty. Gloria “Golly” Estenzo-Ramos, in two solo episodes for my podcast Good and Green. It also is Month of the Ocean (MOO) in May so we found it perfect to guest these two knowledgeable women. Anna for her “Save the Seas” advocacy and Atty. Golly for her work with Bloomberg-initiated NGO, which is Oceana.

As an advocate for the oceans for 14 years now, Anna undertakes training programs for the youth and teachers on protecting the water bodies, with the Philippines being the second largest archipelago in the world. Yet people hardly think of the sea, even if we like to eat fish and should be concerned about its sustainability. Many land-raised citizens have never seen the water, if they have always lived in landlocked towns. Just like how some Midwesterners in America never get to see the east or west coast. Some people live all their lives where they were born, and if this happens to be on land, they never relate to the sea.

Anna claims to be a professional fund raiser, because she needs help from NGOs to keep teaching children and youth on how to join her advocacy to save the seas. But she has been on it for more than a decade, making her the “chief mermaid” who could be the solution to sustainability of our water bodies, mainly the huge oceans that sandwich our islands – the Pacific Ocean on the east and the West Philippine Sea.

Golly, meanwhile, uses her legal expertise to help teach local government units (LGUs) how to interpret and use the law for protection of their municipal waters. Did you know that every municipality by the water has claim of up to 15 kilometers from its shoreline? That means big commercial fishers should not enter this “dash line” to keep the fisherfolk alive and sustainable. Yet, many fishing communities are “invaded” by commercial fishers, sometimes with collusion from their very own officials who may be on the take. But if the fisherfolk are aware of this law, they can use their power to fight for their rights. We have very good environment laws, according to Golly, but we need implementation.

She herself succeeded in protecting Tañon Strait by exposing a plan of an offshore drilling project which would have marred this beautiful area because of commercial reasons. Call her a “watchdog” for the laws of the sea. We are reminded by Golly that the Philippines is the “center of the center of biodiversity,” which I think is in the Verde Islands, a group of islands near Batangas and Mindoro. I pride myself in having sailed near these islands, if only to remind myself that we are the center of marine biodiversity, and that we should protect all the bodies of water visible to our eyes. Even if you do not and cannot dive, I salute those who are able to experience this so called “center” where marine life is alive and beautiful. Divers and tourists do enjoy this area, and it is the main reason why Anilao is a dive spot as well as Puerto Galera, which is still a popular tourist destination. Imagine the rest of the world wanting to see our dive spots, while many of us take it for granted because we do not or cannot dive.

As we celebrate Oceans Month in May, let us be reminded of the special place the Philippines is at. And let us learn to protect our fisherfolk from invasion by knowing where our fish comes from. If we stop eating fish not sustainably caught, we can help the fisherfolk sustain their livelihood using simple and safe fishing methods. We can even help by eating more dried fish because many fishers do not have cold storage facilities because they are off-grid. But they can at least have drying facilities. So eating dried fish from sustainable sources helps.

If we are to eat fresh line-caught fish, we have to go to the source. Cold storage is still something we have to work on in many fishing communities, to give them a leg up. Otherwise, fisherfolk will remain to be the poorest of the poor, and may switch jobs if they do not get help sooner rather than later. For now, buying dried fish is a good way to start helping them.

For those who can afford fresh fish, we must also be conscious of market size of each species. Let us not consume small fish that still have room to grow. Sinaya Seafood (a social enterprise) will come up with a fish ruler so we know how big a bangus, lapu-lapu or talakitok should be before we buy them.

There is a lot to learn from experts of the sea. And consumers must also take part by eating the right fish, knowing which is sustainably-sourced fish and to patronize only those fish in cans and bottles that are responsibly-caught. Happy Oceans Month!