Tubbataha Reef generates Php 3.7-M during diving season this year

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY,  - The Tubbataha Reef National Park, declared as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1993, generated a Php 3.7-million income during the diving months from March to June, this year.

This was disclosed by Angelique Songco, park manager, in an interview by DWRM-Radyo ng Bayan Palawan anchored by veteran broadcaster Kaka Ernesto Alcala Tuesday.

Songco said the Tubbataha Management Office (TMO) collected the amount as conservation fees from dive tourists and boat operators from March to June, the only three diving months in a year.

She, however, admitted the TMO did not meet its target Php 4.5-million income from diving activities.

Songco is hopeful that more tourists will dive in Tubbataha with only three weeks remaining in the month of June.

She attributed the possible failure to meet their target to decreased number of dive tourists due to the high cost of petroleum products, which forced dive boat operators to also increase their rental fees.

Since the establishment of the Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board in 1998, divers and commercial boats are allowed to enter the reef after paying conservation fees.

She noted that despite the limited diving season, many international and local tourist have been attracted to the “underwater world of wonders” of Tubbataha.

The area of Tubbataha Reef was expanded from 33,000 hectares to 96,828 hectares by virtue of Proclamation No. 1126 signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Aug. 23, 2006.

The reef, located off Sulu Sea and some 182 kilometers (113 miles) southeast from this city, is home to 10,000 coral reefs, 483 species of fish, two nesting species of marine turtles and nine species of marine mammals.

The reef’s islets are among the last breeding strongholds of seabirds in Southeast Asia.

Trumpetfish, cornetfish, anthias, Napoleon wrasse, clownfish associated with anemones, other damselfish, angelfish, lionfish, scorpionfish, boxfish, groupers, triggerfish, pufferfish, hawkfish and parrotfish, among others, abound in the reef. Manta rays and turtles are common near the surface.

Songco said tourism income will be used for conservation, research and monitoring and other park-related management jobs pegged at P10 million annually.

Personnel of the Philippine Navy, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and other uniformed men in Western Command have also contributed to the conservation of Tubbataha through manpower and logistics support.

Fish biomass doubled from 166 metric tons per square kilometer in 2004 to 318 metric tons per square kilometer in 2005.

Tubbataha has reportedly contributed an ecological value of Php 840 million every year in the country’s economy in terms of fisheries and tourism.