Environmentalists counter Cebu town mayor: Whale sharks, dolphins 'best friends' of fisherfolk

 

Mayor Nelson Garcia of Dumanjug town in Cebu caught flak at the recent Tañon Strait forum when he said that whale sharks and dolphins were pests and suggested that people should be allowed to kill them. According to Garcia, the marine animals threaten the livelihood of the town by eating large amounts of fish.

 

An environmental group countered Garcia’s comment, saying that whale sharks and dolphins are actually the “best friends” of the fisherfolk community. 

 

Whale sharks feed mostly on plankton, krill, and macroalgae, which helps clean the waters of Tañon Strait, according to Earth Island Institute PH in a statement. Too much algae may lead to red tide and the macroalgae may overrun coral reefs, killing fish and destroying the marine ecosystem, they added.

 

Earth Island Institute PH stressed that the main threats to the fish population aren’t the whale sharks or dolphins, but overfishing, pollution, and commercial fishing.

 

“We hope Valentine’s Day would extend to all other creatures. Instead of sending out a message of hate against these animals, we should be asking people to love them more,” they said.

 

Tañon Strait was declared a protected seascape in 1998 and is currently the biggest protected area in the country, spanning 521,018 hectares and bordering 677 km of coastline. —Bea Montenegro/JST, GMA News