HMUA Myke Legaspi: Diver's Night Party with a CAUSE!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Diver's Night Party with a CAUSE!

Coral Conservation Efforts: Pola, Oriental Mindoro

Once the prime township of the island of Mindoro, the town of Pola, located 78 kilometers east of Calapan City in the province of Oriental Mindoro, boost the best and the purest coconut virgin oils as its prime export product. Through its lush mountainside forest and thousand of hectares of coconut plantation it became the center of this high quality product. Its streets is lined with old houses akin to those found in Vigan, it draws its history, its beauty, its culture as seen through the day-to-day interaction with its people.

Its primary location, between the Naujan Lake and Tablas Strait, which draws its other livelihood: fishing. Once an abundant area of these boundiful harvest, unfortunately through irresponsible and illegal ways of cyanide-fishing, dynamite-fishing, compressor diving, fine mesh trawling, and unabated release of anchors in their once pristine fishing location have wrecked terrible consequences: they have depleted their fish stock population and destroyed a large area of once beautiful coral gardens.

However, they have come around and acts positively on the situation. Recently, through the vigilant efforts spearheaded by their town mayor Alex Aranas and its town leaders, these young and viligant generations of concerned citizens of Pola, Mindoro, started to pro-actively campaign about being responsible to their natural coastal and marine environments. They have now banned illegal fishing methods and trained their local folks on proper ways to manage and conserve their natural resources. This gargautian efforts began three years ago and slowly moves forward.

With these exciting concerted efforts coming at hand, as forefront visitors in our magnificent underwater world, we would like to make an appeal to support this worthwhile campaign of assisting them achieve and win back their coral gardens and its denizens. Fairly recently we have dived their area and saw new juvenile fishes and coral patches come back to life. They even have a huge triggerfish that now patrols and protects the area!

Fellow Scubadivers and other advocates of marine and coral conservations, we would like to you to be part of this worthwhile project supporting the Pola Marine and Coral Conservation efforts. By joining us this coming May 20, 2009, for our Diver’s Night Party, by pledging your Php100.00 as a sign of support. With other scubadivers, conservation advocations, and our corporate sponsors, it will be a night of fun and excitement, good time with your fellow dive buddies, and a night we get to help save environment. The proceeds of this fun event would help fund the conservation efforts for Pola Coral and Marine Conservation by installing proper mooring bouys, giant clam seedings and others.

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