Benham Rise: New ecological frontier
By Jonathan L. Mayuga
(Published in the Business Mirror, May 29, 2016)
Conclusion
Conservation
According to Oceana Philippines, the
highly prized Pacific bluefin tuna spawns in the western Pacific,
including the Benham Rise.
Jay Batongbacal, director of UP’s
Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea who was also among the
forum resource persons, was quoted by Oceana as saying that with its
wealth of marine resources, there is a need to craft a management
framework for the Benham Rise.
One of the options being considered is to
propose the declaration of the Benham Rise as a marine-managed area,
with the Benham Bank as the core zone with protected status, and the
rest as exploration areas.
Coral reef
Oceana Philippines’s Marianne
Pan-Saniano, a marine scientist, said the Benham Bank, is blanketed with
coral assemblages, sponges and algae. She added in a news release that
organisms in what is known as the mesophotic zone, found at depths of up
to 150 meters, can tolerate low-light penetration. She said the
underwater plateau serves as a refuge and nursery for many economically
important fish.
Marine scientists have found more than 50
species of fish and a thick cover of tiered plate corals were also
found during the 2014 oceanographic exploration of the Benham Bank,
which was funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Natural
Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and
Technology. The dive that lasted for 25 minutes was able to film at a
depth of 50 meters, Oceana said.
“There is a lot to be discovered when we do extensive research,” she said.
Sophisticated gadget
As scientists explore the Benham Bank
anew, Director Theresa Mundita Lim of the Biodiversity Management Bureau
(BMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
expects the discovery of more exciting marine species.
“With new and more sophisticated
technology, we expect to get a vivid picture of the species of fish and
other marine life,” Lim said.
Oceana Philippines will provide the
baited remote underwater vehicle system (BRUVS) to measure fish
population during the exploration. BRUVS is currently one of the most
common technologies used worldwide for counting and measuring the length
of fish.
With a remotely operated vehicle, and
technical diver-videographers in a forthcoming expedition will allow
scientists to film the marine resources in the Benham Bank more
extensively, Oceana Philippines said.
Marine biologist Euan Harvey said BRUVS
uses footage from two cameras attached to a frame with fish-bait at the
center, and especially licensed software to analyze the maximum number
of fish seen at any onetime. BRUVS is useful in studying deeper reefs
and doing long-term research for a wide range of fish habitats.
Biodiversity conservation
Lim said the pooling of resources is
still ongoing. This includes identification of more sophisticated gadget
or equipment, such as underground cameras, to be used during the
exploration.
“We expect a report from UP-MSI. We need to get inputs about the condition underneath,” she said.
Lim said the exploration in the Benham Rise is not confined to the number or the kind of fish species that can be found there.
“It’s not just about the fish. It’s also
about other living organisms. The corals and other marine species
thriving in the Benham Rise will help us come up with an idea of how
rich is the marine biodiversity in [the area],” Lim, the country’s top
biodiversity official, said in an interview on Wednesday.
According to Lim, during exploration,
scientists will be able to help the DENR-BMB build a more accurate
baseline data in the Benham Rise region.
Protection
“We need to know the species we need to
protect Lim,” said. “One of the options being explored is to declare a
portion as a protected area. But there is a process in declaring a
protected area. We are aware that there are other resources that can be
developed in the Benham Rise. We need to balance it to identify or
determine the best management option for the Benham Rise,” Lim said.
Establishing protected areas needs an
extensive resource assessment, including the biodiversity that thrives
in the area, she said.
She said declaring a portion of the
Benham Rise a protected area will depend on the exploration report. “If
the best use is to protect the marine biodiversity, then the option is
to declare it as a protected area. But we would like to listen to other
agencies with stake in the Benham Rise, like the Bureau of Fisheries and
Aquatic Resources, MGB [Mines and Geosciences Burea] and the DOE,” she
said. According to Lim, the plan for another visit to the Benham Rise
will be conducted by a composite team, which includes marine geologists,
fisheries expert and marine biologists.
“Although we have preliminary information
available because of previous explorations, it is best to validate
these information toward deciding on what will be the best management
option for the Benham Rise,” she added.
Excellent cover of coral reefs
An abstract of a poster prepared by
scientists who earlier explored the Benham Rise, entitled “Exploring
Mesophotic Depths off Philippine Sea: Coral Reefs on Benham Bank
Seamount,” revealed that the reefs on the summit 50 meters to 55 meters
deep had excellent cover, estimated to be between 75 percent and 100
percent, of mostly Porites rus, which appeared as tiered, thick, rigid and foliose plates.
These species of coral are heavily collected for the aquarium trade.
Over 60 species of bony and cartilaginous fish were also recorded. Of these, 26 have high commercial value. Also, Halimeda spp, a genus of green macroalgae, is dominant. Other classes observed are epiphytes, or plant that grows harmlessly upon another plant.
The scientists observed that while the
account of benthic biodiversity appears less when compared to shallower
fringing reefs of the country’s Pacific seaboard, much of the Benham
Bank remains to be uncovered.
“It is very important to explore the
Benham Rise, because there are other interests in the area. It should be
an integrated assessment of the territory so that we will know what we
are bound to gain or lose,” Lim said.
Once a portion of the Benham Rise was
declared a protected area, she said, the territory will undergo a more
stringent protection mechanism.
“If it’s going to be declared a protected
area, it will be an executive decision, hence resources will not rely
only upon the BMB. We expect other agencies to help. It means all
resources of the national government, including the Department of
National Defense, for its protection, will be tapped,” she said.
