A variety of starfish that is considered a pest to corals is being eradicated in Badian, Cebu with the use of coconut vinegar. 

The crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS), referred to locally as “salanay,” is a large starfish that preys upon coral polyps. It is considered a major pest, according to marine biologists, because it devastates coral reefs by “consuming coral tissue faster than it can regrow.”

Thus, a resident in Badian tried a way of eradication by injecting coconut vinegar to COTS.

Bonifacio Jomio, the lone salanay hunter in Badian, uses a large syringe in injecting the COTS with coconut vinegar, which he considers as a form of “lethal injection.”

Corals are incredibly significant in the growth and constant supply of fishes and other marine life.

Bonifacio said he took inspiration from a salanay hunter in Bohol.

The community has welcomed Bonifacio’s initiative to control the proliferation of COTS in order to protect and conserve coral reefs that support both marine and human lives.