MEDIUM RARE
Bullies do their bullying because they’re bigger, bolder, better equipped. But when they go down to the bottom of the sea under cover of darkness and night to steal coral reefs, that’s outright thievery. Thieves and burglars steal at night because they’re afraid of getting caught. They’re not so tough if they’re scared.
Scared or not, they have been found out by our Coast Guard and the Palawan-based Western Command of the AFP — so what are they going to do? More important, what are we going to do? What can we do? As a Coast Guard spokesperson reported, Chinese maritime militia “may have been responsible for the massive destruction” of the coral reef in the West Philippine Sea.
What little I know about coral, other than its value as jewelry, is that it’s a living, breathing organism whose home happens to be the reef or island. Images broadcast on the TV news showed what could only have been a partial devastation, the result of what is suspected to be incursions by boats or a swarm of them. The pictures were too painful to watch, rather like looking at a museum or art gallery that has been cruelly stripped by robbers.
The pillaging of the seabed of Rozul Reef and Escoda Shoal spells the incalculable loss of a habitat with consequences to the marine environment. What does the Department of Environment and Natural Resources intend to do, knowing that the loss is all but irreparable? Fishermen will likewise feel the destruction as one impacting their livelihood. And not only fishermen, but the fish and other marine creatures also, for they depend on the reefs for dear life.
To quote Oceana Foundation’s marine scientist, Diuvani de Jesus:
“Around 12 percent of the global fish catch comes from the South China Sea.
“More than half of the world’s fishing vessels of fish stocks in the South China Sea are now only five percent of what they once were in the 1950’s.
“In just the past two decades, fish stocks have fallen by 66 to 75 percent.
“Coral reefs have shrunk by 16 percent in the last 10 years.”
Is it time to contemplate a ban, even a temporary one, on harvesting coral for jewelry?