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World scientists to survey marine biodiversity in the PhilippinesManila, Oct 26, 2005 Marine scientists from various countries will conduct a five-year survey of marine biodiversity in the Philippines starting next year. French marine scientist Dr. Philippe Bouchet identified the target areas as South China Sea bordering northeastern Palawan to southwest Luzon in 2006, Pacific waters off northeastern Luzon's shores in 2007 and the sea surrounding Samal and Talicud islands in Davao in 2008.
"Deep sea fishery species are not yet at the forefront of extinction but survey results can help enhance efforts of the Philippines to manage its aquatic resources so ecological balance can be maintained," said Bouchet who is also director of the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN) in Paris. Bouchet was a member of an international team of scientists who conducted a 14-day expedition in the Bohol Sea in May this year. The Filipino official who joined the survey was acting Marine Fisheries Research Division chief Ludivina Labe of the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI). During the survey the scientists collected about 10,000 fishery samples which are now the subject of a thorough examination. "This proves the richness of Philippine marine biodiversity, its scientific value and historical significance for the world," Bouchet said. Authorities are hoping commercially valuble fishery species can be discovered through expeditions in deep sea Philippine waters. "If we know more about our biodiversity, we can identify more potential commercial species," according to Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Director Malcolm Sarmiento. Expedition results can help government improve its policies on fisheries and environmental management. "The Bohol Sea might be a potential source of marine shrimp which we have not yet explored as an export commodity," he said. Filipino marine scientist and NFRDI research associate Noel Saguil said the plan for future expeditions emerged after they observed an increasing number of marine species in the country still to be identified. "Private individuals researched and identified most of these species they discovered while pursuing water-related hobbies," said Saguil who joined the Panglao expedition. Bouchet said that during the survey in Bohol, new aquatic species are found in the Philippines and Indonesia than elsewhere in the world. MNHN, BFAR, NFRDI, the French Embassy in Manila and National University of Singapore sponsored the Panglao 2005 expedition. Some 30 scientists from France, Singapore, Taiwan, Russia and the Philippines joined the survey using the Philippine research vessel M/V DA-BFAR. The vessel dredged and trawled waters up to a depth of 2,000 meters from the sea's surface. The scientists initially reported samples obtained during the expedition might possibly belong to thousands of fishery species. They noted such species include about a thousand molluscs, 600 crustaceans as well as over 100 echinoderms and fish which Bouchet said are either rare, very rare or completely unknown to science. He is optimistic these could help scientists shed light on the evolution of the earth's fauna. "All evolution during the last 60 million years occurred in deep seas," he said. Earlier, Bouchet led an international team of marine scientists which undertook the Panglao Marine Biodiversity Project in 2004. The expedition off Panglao Island, yielded some 1,200 species of decapod crustaceans and about 6,000 mollusc species. The samples were sourced at an average depth of some 200 meters from the sea's surface. Scientists were able to identify as belonging to separate genuses previously unlisted in aquatic literature. (PNA)
Top of Philippine News: Marine Biodiversity
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