Environmentalist group calls for protection of PHL's Benham Rise

An environmentalist group urged the government to protect the marine resources and wildlife of Benham Rise, according to a Balitanghali report on Tuesday.

Oceana, the largest international ocean conservation and advocacy organization, said Benham Rise has been considered as a "migratory pathway" of marine resources in the region. 

It added that Benham Rise’s ecosystem could be a tourist destination due to its coral reefs. 

Benham Rise, a 13-million hectare undersea region located east of Luzon, is a biodiversity hotspot and the only known breeding ground of the critically-endangered Pacific bluefin tuna. 

Benham Bank, with a depth of at least 50 meters, is the shallowest portion of Benham Rise.

In 2009, the Philippines lodged a full territorial claim to Benham Rise with the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.

The claim was granted in 2012, with Benham Rise granted to the Philippines as an extension of the country's continental shelf, some 350 nautical miles from the nation's shore.

Meanwhile, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said it has conducted public consultations for the protection of Benham Rise. —Anna Felicia Bajo/KG, GMA News