Tubbataha Reefs, Ph
THE TUBBATAHA REEF
The name 'Tubbataha' is a Samal word for "long reef exposed at low tide". Samals are seafaring people of the Sulu Sea. Cagayanen people who are more geographically associated with Tubbataha Reefs referred the Park as 'gusong'.
Location
Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) lies in the middle of the Sulu Sea and falls under the political jurisdiction of Cagayancillo, an island municipality situated 130km to the north. The park is around 150km southeast of Puerto Princesa City - capital of the Province of Palawan - the usual jump-off point for visitors and dive boats going to Tubbataha. It is composed of the North and South atolls and the Jessie Beazley Reef.
Formation
The coral atolls of Tubbataha and Jessie Beazley began to form thousands of years ago as fringing reefs of volcanic islands along the Cagayan Ridge. Over millennia - as the volcanoes became extinct and the islands sunk into the ocean depths - only the corals remained and they continued to grow upwards towards the sunlight.
History
Tubbataha is well known to fishermen of the southern Philippines but until the late 1970s, Cagayanons were the primary users of the reefs' resources. During the summer, they would make fishing trips to Tubbataha in fleets of traditional wooden sailboats.
Tubbataha's isolation and its susceptibility to harsh weather once protected it from over-exploitation. But by the 1980s, fishermen from other parts of the Philippines started exploiting Tubbataha in motorized boats, many using destructive fishing techniques to maximize their catch.
In 1988 - in response to a vigorous campaign by Philippine scuba divers and environmentalists alike - President Corazon Aquino declared Tubbataha a National Marine Park.
Biodiversity
Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is home to no less than: * 573 species of fish * 379 species of corals (about half of all coral species in the world) * 11 species of sharks * 12 species of dolphins & whales * Nesting
The name 'Tubbataha' is a Samal word for "long reef exposed at low tide". Samals are seafaring people of the Sulu Sea. Cagayanen people who are more geographically associated with Tubbataha Reefs referred the Park as 'gusong'.
Location
Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) lies in the middle of the Sulu Sea and falls under the political jurisdiction of Cagayancillo, an island municipality situated 130km to the north. The park is around 150km southeast of Puerto Princesa City - capital of the Province of Palawan - the usual jump-off point for visitors and dive boats going to Tubbataha. It is composed of the North and South atolls and the Jessie Beazley Reef.
Formation
The coral atolls of Tubbataha and Jessie Beazley began to form thousands of years ago as fringing reefs of volcanic islands along the Cagayan Ridge. Over millennia - as the volcanoes became extinct and the islands sunk into the ocean depths - only the corals remained and they continued to grow upwards towards the sunlight.
History
Tubbataha is well known to fishermen of the southern Philippines but until the late 1970s, Cagayanons were the primary users of the reefs' resources. During the summer, they would make fishing trips to Tubbataha in fleets of traditional wooden sailboats.
Tubbataha's isolation and its susceptibility to harsh weather once protected it from over-exploitation. But by the 1980s, fishermen from other parts of the Philippines started exploiting Tubbataha in motorized boats, many using destructive fishing techniques to maximize their catch.
In 1988 - in response to a vigorous campaign by Philippine scuba divers and environmentalists alike - President Corazon Aquino declared Tubbataha a National Marine Park.
Biodiversity
Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is home to no less than: * 573 species of fish * 379 species of corals (about half of all coral species in the world) * 11 species of sharks * 12 species of dolphins & whales * Nesting