First of all, let me welcome all the participants composed of representatives from concerned government agencies in the maritime sector for the 127th Maritime Forum. This gathering is being undertaken in coordination with the Maritime League. It is truly an honor to host this event as we continue to work together to ensure that our agencies are being updated on…
The Supreme Court rendered a decision on 18 December 2008 ordering 13 government agencies, including the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to clean up, rehabilitate, and preserve Manila Bay, and restore and maintain its waters to SB level to make them fit for swimming, skin-diving, and other forms of contact recreation. The case stemmed from a complaint filed…
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) was recently mentioned on UNTV News on 05-September-2017 as continuously pushing for the periodic planting of mangroves. DENR is targeting to plant mangroves in more than 50K hectares of swamps, especially in areas frequently hit by typhoons. DENR spends roughly Php50K per hectare as part of the National Greening Program to plant…
BISON, the container tech company, this week launched the C-Lift P32, a portable container lift system that equips shipping, logistics and military operators to lift containers in any location. Recognizing that conventional container handling equipment is typically big, heavy and expensive, BISON has introduced a compact, portable and more economic alternative aimed at extending the benefits of intermodal logistics to…
There are 54 species worldwide of marine fishes called the Seahorse belonging to the genus Hippocampus, of which 14 species are known to live in Southeast Asian waters, and 10 species are known to inhabit Philippine waters. “Hippocampus” comes from two ancient Greek words, hippos meaning “horse,” and kampos meaning “sea monster.” The Seahorse has a head and neck with…
Prior to June 2017, there were two species classified as genus Manta: Birostris and Alfredi. According to Marine Wildlife Philippines, the new taxonomy now classifies them as genus Mobula (White et al, 2017) as Mobula birostris and Mobula alfredi. Both mobula ray species are found in the Philippines, and are closely related to sharks, skates, and other rays. Collectively, they…
The Irrawaddy Dolphin belongs to the scientific family Delphinidae (marine dolphin), and Orcaella brevirostris species. Sir Richard Owen first identified the Irrawaddy Dolphin in 1866. It lives in shallow tropical and sub-tropical waters near coasts, and at the mouth of rivers or estuaries, land semi-enclosed lakes, bays, sounds and mangroves in Southeast Asian countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos,…
There are two crocodile species found in the Philippines – the Crocodylus porosus and the Crocodylus mindorensis. The latter is the specie endemic to and found only in the Philippines. Crocodiles are called “Buwaya” in the Philippines. However, it is used interchangeably to mean either crocodile or alligator. The word “Buwaya” originates from the Proto-Austranesian word “Buqaya.” A. CROCODYLUS POROSUS is…
Oceana uses Global Fishing Watch data to highlight transshipping hotspots, countries and ports of interest. Oceana today released a report exposing the global scale of transshipping at sea, a practice that can mask illegal fishing practices and conceal human rights abuses. The report, which was released at The Economist’s World Ocean Summit in Bali, Indonesia, uses a new dataset released…
Description. The Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) is a filter-feeding shark, very slow moving, and the largest known fish species in existence. The largest confirmed Whale Shark had a length of 41.5 ft and a weight of 47,000 lbs according to Gerald L. Wood (1976) in The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats. There are undocumented or unconfirmed claims of…
The Dugong (Dugongidae) is the only strictly herbivorous marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. The Dugong is the only living mammal of the once-diverse family Dugongidae. Its closest relative, the Steller’s sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), was hunted to extinction in the 18th century. Dugongs and other…
The National Defense College of the Philippines defines national security as the state or condition where the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the people’s way of life and institutions are protected and enhanced. One of the predominant effects of climate change is rapid sea level rise. If sea level rise occurs, will it affect the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the Filipino’s…
The Commission for the Conservation of Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) on Friday approved the creation of a New Zealand/United States proposal to establish the world’s largest Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Antarctica’s Ross Sea. The Agreement will enter into force on December 1, 2017. The Ross Sea Marine Protected Area covers 1.55 million square kilometers, of which 1.12 million square…
Climate Change is the long-term change in the earth’s global or regional climate patterns that began particularly in the mid to late 20th century and onwards. Research attributes climate change largely to the increasing levels in the average atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil-based fuels by humans. It takes place in small gradual changes in temperature that…
The Humboldt is a large predatory squid living in the waters of the Humboldt Current in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. It is commonly called jumbo squid, jumbo flying, pota, or diablo rojo. The Humboldt Squid (specie Dosidicus gigas) is among the largest of squids, with a length exceeding 6 ft. and mass weight of up to 100 lbs. It has…
Five of seven marine turtle species (Testudines) in the world can be found in the Philippines. These are the Green turtle, Hawksbill, Loggerhead, Olive Ridley, and the Leatherback. These sea turtles are commonly called “Pawikan” in the Philippines. The two other species not present in the Philippines are the Flatback (Natator depressus) and the Kemp’s Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtles….