LifestyleBohol Section
Bohol Chronicle
Published: April 27, 2008
Going, going, and gone...As I followed the gray-colored bird beat its wings and off to the air after a mouthful of fish, I couldn’t help but be amazed at this very same sight I see almost every day ever since a bird of this kind had appeared in the beach at the back of our house. Sometimes, there are two of them, probably a couple, hunting for food during low tide and since they are bigger than the usual birds I see around, I call them big birds.
Much has improved in our little town of Lila, just 28 kilometers from the city, especially in the area of coastal resource management. When I was a kid, I was always fond of the sea – swimming, fishing, gathering food like lukot, shells, sea urchins and the likes with my lola. I accidentally learned how to swim at a very young age of seven after my sister grabbed the one and only buoy (a tight-capped empty water container) I was holding on to keep afloat. I remember seeing sea horses, plenty of shells, mollusks and other sea creatures, that are now have all become very rare, if not, extinct in the local area. People, then, were unwary of the consequences of over fishing by the use of very fine fish nets, over collection of marine creatures that are not even edible, water pollution caused by garbage-dumping, and even the use of cyanide and other fish poisons. Upon reaching high school, I noticed the major change not towards the better but the worst. Sea horses, sea urchins and many types of shells disappeared, corals became lifeless, and fish population and fish catch had significantly dropped to a point where buying fish in the market would mean spending much more than buying pork or beef. Snorkeling was never enjoyable anymore as the once beautifully-colored reefs with tropical fishes of different sizes swarming here and there had become an unmoving and dull reflection of the blue sky above. Even sea anemones, which were abundant before, appeared to have been abandoned by their resident Nemos leading to their own demise, as well. I had this fantasy that if I were Captain Planet, one of my favorite superheroes then, I would definitely save our sea and turn its life back where it rightfully was. But fantasies were no more than wishful thinking and false escape of reality. Reality still bites and, sadly, the most I can do that time was to clean our own side of the beach.
When I went to UP Los Baños in Laguna to pursue my undergraduate studies, I had to leave the town that I loved since childhood with the hope that someday its vibrant marine life will be back, waiting for me to explore its beauty again. I remained hopeful. True enough, hope didn’t fail me as I continued to cling on it. While I was in school, I heard there were vital improvements in coastal management in our town. Several no-fishing-zone marine sanctuaries were established and the use of fish nets of all sorts were prohibited within the municipal waters with corresponding penalties for those found guilty of violating such rules. In addition, some species of fish were forbidden during their mating and gestation period, with some other prohibitions concerning the collection of marine organisms. These regulations were to be imposed within a definite period of time, 10 years if I remembered it right. Well, I say it should stay until such time when all or even most of the past dwellers of this part of the sea have been revived and when people are no longer ignorant and irresponsible of their acts. At first, I thought these ordinances were just among those that have made it in print or paper but not in action like most of our national laws but, surprisingly, I was wrong. Since their inception, many have been apprehended for using fish nets and for fishing within the sanctuary even until now and I give credit to the law enforcement people and the locals, as well, for that. I used to be so cynical when it comes to laws of our land because of the fact that we are a country known to have so many bills passed and enacted but not as much implementation. Yes, many laws that we have are just as deep as the fiber of paper they are written in. But this doesn’t mean that we just have to leave them all like that. They were written and enacted obviously with purpose and it is our responsibility to do the action part.
We have so many things to be grateful and thankful for as inhabitants and stewards of a beautiful island called Bohol and I think we all have an idea why. The government and private sectors and some individuals are all aiming for the best eco-cultural tourism this side of the planet can offer, which will hopefully bring a well-balanced socioeconomic and environmental growth and development that will benefit us all. Let us take part in this vision. As ordinary citizens as we are, we can become extraordinary even in our own simple ways of protecting our forests, rivers, seas, endangered species of plants and animals, heritage and cultural sites and other resources that add beauty and value to our land and our future.
When I took a swim one time, I saw several sea anemones and their loyal resident Nemos which were apparently back in each others’ fins and tails after several years of absence. I didn’t see any sea horse, though, but who knows? I’ll keep my fingers crossed on that. After all, they say hope is gone only when we doubt it and time runs out only when we give up.
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