The folks behind WTF actively interact with their site’s contributors and users, and go out of their way to assist in getting marine plants and animals identified. Their database is quite huge, and already makes it to front-page search results on Google. I’ve come to know the names of dozens of marine species, thanks to them. Beyond basic data, each entry has photographs, habitat information, geographical distribution data…. And I appreciate it a lot that the site is dedicated to marine life exclusively — this makes searching for, say, nudibranchs’ names so much easier.

A similar knowledgebase is the Encyclopedia of Life, which appears to have a much more extensive and detailed database. Personally, though, I think that site is more for science buffs.

Project Noah

The online resource, however, that is very much attuned to the present-day Web is Project Noah. It is a crowd-sourced global collection of plants, mammals, reptiles, etc. — that is, pictures of wildlife taken by the site’s members. Project Noah has successfully created a Web presence where members can possess a true sense of stakeholdership.

Through member “spottings” (site submissions of wildlife photos are called that), Project Noah aims to document wildlife and make the growing database available to the online public. Each spotting can have up to 5 pictures and a video (via Youtube or Vimeo); a section each for description, habitat and personal notes; an interactive locator map (c/o Google Maps); and links to external references. There is also a method for suggesting species identification on a per-spotting basis. Members are able to tag — i.e., attach keywords to — their spottings, and indicate the date the photos were taken. Plus, spottings can be included in Missions.

Project Noah Missions

Now, that’s what attracted me to Project Noah. You see, when I had gotten for myself a fair-sized collection of marine life pictures, I needed a way to organize them meaningfully, and to showcase them to the world as having come from the Davao Gulf. Project Noah’s Missions feature now lets members do just that: to create a more cohesive archive that can be made more specific according to taxonomy and/or geography.

I have created two Missions so far: Davao Gulf Marine Life and Philippine Coral Survey. The first mission is for spottings of any marine life found within the Gulf of Davao, and is meant to become a definitive resource for such.

The second is for the hundreds of coral species found in Philippine seas. Beyond data accumulation, the ultimate objective of this mission is to create awareness of the beautiful and precious marine life we have underwater. With awareness, it has been said, comes action. I sincerely hope that, with more and more people becoming aware of the plight of our coral reefs, through Project Noah and other other websites, the campaign to protect these natural resources would gain more momentum.

Arthropod Specialist

To make the site fun to use, Project Noah awards badges to its members. For example, once you’ve posted 100 spottings, you’ll receive the “Explorer” badge. Or if you focused on, say, shrimp and crab pictures, you might get the “Arthropod Specialist” badge (shown here).

Recently, I got a very special badge. One of the creators of Project Noah emailed and invited me to become one of their Project Rangers.

Project Ranger

It’s really clever what the Project Noah creators have accomplished. The meat of the site — the wildlife pictures with their associated information and metadata — are all sourced from members. Management of the information, as well, has been accorded to a dedicated group of members. These things make for a true 21st-century Web application. (There’s even a mobile app!)

Project Rangers, much like park rangers, are tasked to ensure that Project Noah guidelines are followed. Information does need to be kept reasonably organized in order for it to be meaningful to anyone, right? Also, sometimes a need arises to “police” wayward members. Spam submissions have been known to happen, as well as cases of ‘mistaken identity’, hence the need for active Project Rangers.

My own collection of marine wildlife on Project Noah can be viewed here. I hope you will create an account, too. And if you’re into marine wildlife, please join the two missions mentioned above.

Talking with fellow divers on the boat during our surface interval, some believed that the net was discarded on purpose. The reason: the net had no floaters attached to it, or lead weights. The was neither any rope still strung across its perimeter.

Please take a look at the pictures below (clicking on one will show a larger version), and please talk about this with your friends, family and colleagues. Help spread the word about how destructive ghost nets are underwater.

We’ll be back again this Wednesday to retrieve the rest of the ghost net from San Juan Reef.

Photos and video by Christian Te. Thanks to WhatsThatFish.com for identifying the poor undersea victims for me.

6° 59' 39.28" N, 125° 43' 11.4" E

This dive site, which is very close to the Hof Gorei beach resort on Samal Island, is a favorite of mine because of the abundance of huge coral heads present (mostly hard coral) and the myriads of species of marine life that call it home. I was telling the Japanese couple (retirees from Tokyo) about how I enjoyed San Juan Reef, and it turned out really well in the beginning — visibility was at least 30 feet and there was hardly any turbidity (in spite of the heavy downpour last night).

We planned a dive where we would bottom at about a hundred feet, take in the surroundings for a few minutes, skirt the sloping wall towards the southeast while climbing, then explore the reef level at about 40 feet for the remainder of the first dive.

It all went quite well — lots of photo opportunities for my charges, great visibility, warm waters (max of about 85°F / 29°C), thousands of colorful, hyperactive tropical fish — until we got to the last leg of the plan.

What greeted us at the southeastern portion of the reef was dismaying. No: horrifying. Looming in the distance, it was like an apparition that seemed to blur the coral formations ahead. It didn’t register in my mind right away because of its unthinkable size. Then it hit me, and the realization was painful. It was a fishing net, covering an area the size of a volleyball basketball court.

For some inexplicable and unfathomable reason, local fishermen dispose of old or damaged fishing nets into the sea. Some months ago, a diver-photographer told me that these underwater pollutants were called “ghost nets”. I’ve been seeing such things from time to time, but usually no bigger than a few feet long. I wish you would never have to see what I did today — it felt like a punch in the gut.

On my second dive, two fellow Dabawenyos — Bgy. Capt. Jun Laud of Ma-a and Van-Van, one of his volunteers from the barangay rescue team — joined me in an effort to clear as much net as possible. It was in shallow water, about 20 feet, so we were able to stay underwater for a solid hour and a half. But we could only do so much. The offensive netting covered a lot of bristly coral heads, so that it was extremely tasking trying to extricate the super fine threads.

A lot of fish were caught in the ghost net’s deathly clutches: angels, damsels, puffers — most of them doomed to die. I was able to free a filefish and a juvenile triggerfish and another that I didn’t recognize, but that was it.

What was most gut-wrenching for me was seeing two peacock mantis shrimp, hopelessly entangled in the net’s nearly invisible fibers. We were desperate to free the pair, but to no avail. One was above the net and the other below, both beyond rescue due to their constant struggling to get free. What if they were mating? What if more were trapped? It was my first time to see this dazzlingly colorful creature… but in such a depressing circumstance!

Ghost nets are highly destructive. They ensnare marine animals, big or small, and they can suffocate coral. In this incident, it was very shallow and currents at San Juan Reef are nutrient-laden, so that algal growth is at an accelerated rate; I saw a few staghorn coral heads already completely covered by algae. Endangered marine turtles, even dolphins, can also get entangled in these wantonly discarded nets.

Three months ago I wrote about destructive fishing practices and that it would take a bottom-up approach to curb them. Clearly, what’s needed is to get local fishermen to truly understand the harm in their actions. I mentioned that it would take time for this to happen. But when??

Tomorrow, I hope more divers will join us in getting rid of that nasty fishing net from San Juan Reef. It will take a concerted effort, and it will certainly take time and lots of patience. I’m just glad that the people I dive with are as conscientious of the environment as I am, and are always there to lend a hand.

Aside from the environment, the presence of these undersea pollutants will hurt our tourism industry. It was quite embarrassing for me during our surface interval, talking to the Japanese tourists about the ghost net. The couple came to Davao for scuba diving, nothing else. I wonder how they truly felt about seeing that horrific sight…

When will the local government units involved take action? When will the plans emanating from the various organizations active in the Davao Gulf finally see the light of day? Clean-up dives, while noble, are transient measures, mere stop gaps that don’t really address the root of the problem. What we need are rigorous and resolute actions by everyone concerned.

Led by the CGSOG’s newly-appointed commanding officer, P/Ens Bernard N. Venutra, the group of Scubasureros swept the sea floor from Sonrisa Beach to Blujaz Beach to Paradise Island Beach. Joining the frogman team were Christian, Rodney and me, and two more civilians: Dennis Tiamson of Philippine Airlines and Al Karlus Piloton, a freelance dive master. The civilian team was invited by the CGSOG through Carabao Dive Center, the Coast Guard’s partner in such activities.

According to my dive buddy during today’s Scubasurero plunge, SN2 Al Konrad Piloton (the DM’s brother), the Coast Guard also did other coastal clean-ups at Sasa, as well as other environment protection initiatives in some parts of the Davao Gulf. (Earlier this month, another sub-unit of the Coast Guard conducted a mangrove-planting activity.)

I salute these intrepid protectors of the seas for their sincere concern for the environment, and for their positive actions that should serve as an example to everyone.

The Scubasurero event was sponsored by the three resorts — and as well they should, because they were the direct beneficiaries — and by Carabao Dive Center, which provided equipment and tanks. Divers from Paradise Island Beach Resort also joined in the effort.

The Coast Guard District South Eastern Mindanao (CGDSEM) is commanded by Commodore Eduardo B. Gongona. CGDSEM’s area of responsibility encompasses the entire Gulf of Davao, and all the way to General Santos and Sarangani. With so much to look out for (with a budget that, I imagine, doesn’t match their requirements), it’s amazing that they can find the time to do community service. And I’m certainly glad they do!

The rest of the CGSOG team: PO2 Charlie Cayanong, PO3 Elmer Cabrera, PO3 Edward Atok, PO3 Michael Marquez, SN1 Raymond Villanueva, SN2 Ernesto Madriga, SN2 Luis Tan, and SN2 Baltazar Ligan.

There was so much garbage underwater! Of course I see that each time I dive, but now that I was collecting them, it was mind-blowing how much trash the sea bed is actually covered in. I personally retrieved about 3lbs of plastic wrappers, aluminum foil, PET bottles, cans, diapers, lighters, pens… It was just disheartening.

Most people don’t see the sea very often, so the problem of ocean pollution is a classic case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality. This must change. The waters between Davao City and Samal are now polluted with floating trash, and it’s becoming more than just an unsightly annoyance. It will very soon become a region-wide problem: getting it out of the sea will certainly be costly, but if we let it remain unchecked, it will impact negatively on our tourism industry.

But more than that, non-biodegradable materials in the sea are harmful pollutants. They can cause coral reefs to waste away; they can kill dolphins and marine turtles, who could ingest plastics thinking they were jellyfish; and they can clog waterways and cause damage to life and property.

Please, stop throwing garbage into the sea!

For more photos of this dive, please see Rodney’s album.

Blogging workshop in Zamboanga City

The group of 20 students were invited from different high schools, with a few out-of-school youths as well. They were a good mix of Christians, Muslims and lumad (or indigenous peoples). They were all talented, eager to speak out and ready to learn. It was a pleasure talking to them about blogging and showing them how to go about creating their own blogs — although, as I expected, about half of them were already blogging on their own.

This activity was part of the seminar-workshop on The Use of ICT in Conflict and Post-Conflict Areas, organized by the Asian Institute of Journalism & Communication and funded by UNESCO. It was held at the National Computer Center in Zamboanga City, from 3 to 5 August 2011.

Before my workshop, each participant was asked to write an essay on peace: their own take on it and how they thought it could be achieved. I then asked them to post their essays on their blogs — here are some of them:

buildpeacethroughict.blogspot.com
peacetayodito.wordpress.com
soupforthebrain.wordpress.com
blastedbananas.wordpress.com
joan-pangan.blogspot.com
zcgirl.wordpress.com

A few of those young people certainly had unique and very thoughtful ideas. Listening to them, I felt that our future isn’t so bleak after all, what with future leaders possibly from among that group.

I do hope that more of such seminar-workshops would be held, and in other areas of Mindanao.

After the event in Zamboanga, I went to Tawi-Tawi. Although I had a different objective there, I had hoped I’d get to meet bloggers there. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to. Still, I did get to meet a handful of college students who were knowledgeable in blogging. None of them blogged, however, because they said they didn’t have internet connectivity at home.

Going around Tawi-Tawi’s capital, Bongao (which can be reached via Air Philippines from Zamboanga City), I noticed quite a few internet cafés in town. Some of the locals told me that, sadly, those places were used more for computer games than anything approaching educational. (This problem sounds really familiar…)

On the other hand, I saw a number of academic institutions on Bongao Island. Mindanao State University has a campus there, and there is also the Notre Dame of Bongao College. There’s even a computer school, called the Abubakar Computer Learning Center.

My wish is to be able to go to more places in Mindanao and spread the word about blogging and the power it holds for promoting peace.

Last 17 July 2011 (Sunday), the club had its monthly club dive at a beach resort on Samal Island, and the main objective was to deploy 20 cement domes that would serve as artificial reefs. There was also an advanced test-run that was conducted last 13 July.

Here are some photos taken above- and underwater, by Ursula, one of the club members.

The Davao Reef Divers installed five artificial reefs composed of 4 domes each, arranged like a pyramid. The club hopes that the artificial reef domes will encourage the fish population to pick up in this area. The club’s members have agreed to do once-a-month monitoring of the artificial reefs to gather data and see how best to improve on the idea.

Kudos to the club and to Carabao Dive Center for this commendable effort!

No, the guys at Automattic haven’t come up with a waterproof notebook — I just put a WP sticker on my Titan diver’s notebook, which I use for documenting stuff underwater. But hey, that would be a nice schwag for diver-bloggers, no?

Speaking of which, I’ve started another WordPress-powered blog, Scuba DAVAO, which is open to contributions from Dabawenyo divers or divers who love the Gulf of Davao.

WordPress notebook

Davao Gulf is home to dozens of dive spots. But more importantly, it is the habitat of thousands and thousands of marine species. The sad fact is, the marine ecosystem beneath the waters of the gulf is steadily being eroded. That’s why I’ve taken up the challenge to help preserve the gulf’s marine life through Scuba DAVAO, and through another movement called Save the Philippine Seas (whose site is also powered by WordPress).

Diver & sea fan

Tourism is a great thing for any destination: it brings in tourist dollars, thus stimulating economic activity, thus creating more jobs for locals. However, tourism can also turn unsustainable. It’s when the destination’s environment is eroded, thereby becoming less and less attractive to tourists. It should be noted that one of the causes of this are tourists themselves!

Several times now, I’ve witnessed divers (I’ll avoid stating their nationalities here, for fear of being labeled as racist or xenophobic, which I’m not) causing mindless damage to coral reefs. Last Sunday, two foreign divers, who were with us on the regular weekend dive tour, appeared to be more than just sightseeing under the sea. One of them had a sea cucumber in his hands. When I looked at his companion, he was in the act of picking up a live scallop. And when he did, his fin accidentally hit a coral that looked like a young staghorn, and tore it clean out of its roots.

It seems that these people couldn’t care any less about the environment. Both of them had excellent trim underwater, no problem at all with their neutral buoyancy. Meaning, hitting that beautiful coral was clearly a lack of concern on their part.

The clam the diver picked up looked like this

And what about taking sea creatures out of their habitats? I almost couldn’t stop myself from throwing the scallop and sea cucumber overboard when I saw it at the back of the boat after our dive. The scallop was bigger than my hand, kind of orange, and had spikes. If it had been a giant clam, I would’ve stopped that diver right in the water, but I wasn’t sure if the species he got was endangered or not. Still, there should be a law against disturbing nature by recreational divers.

Our marine environment is already facing daunting challenges posed by climate change, industrial fishing, soil erosion… We could certainly use one less factor that wreaks havoc on our beautiful coral reefs.

On a positive note, last weekend’s dives were a treat for me and my buddies. Last Saturday was my first time to see a moray eel up close, and a sea snake. The latter proved to be quite shy, although it is reportedly one of the most lethal in the world. There were quite a few trumpetfish around, too — about a foot or so long, and each one a different color pattern.

And on Sunday, I was able to take a close-up picture of a nudibranch and a commensal shrimp. Not the best macro photography samples, not by a mile, but I’m sharing it here anyway. I do need to practice my neutral buoyancy more, though.

Davao’s coral reefs have a chance of surviving, and one way of ensuring that is by making it known in clear terms to recreational divers — foreign and local — that they must respect marine life at all times. I hope to be able to get Davao’s dive shops and dive boat operators to support my plan to display posters admonishing divers to do just that.