Dawahon Reef
Philippines /
Central Visayas /
Pitogo /
World
/ Philippines
/ Central Visayas
/ Pitogo
World / Philippines / Leyte / Abuyog
reef, invisible
DANAHON or DAWAHON REEF, Dawahon, Bato, Southern Leyte - Eastern Visayas Region No. VIII
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvC0e97I9RU
www.youtube.com/watch?v=B348ePS5NXw
DANAHON REEF: One of the several natural coral reef barriers in the world, a smaller one though. It covers an area of about 1,500 hectares right in the midst of Leyte, Bohol and Cebu and in part geographically belongs to Southern Leyte on its eastern side and Bohol on the western end. The area stretches about 5 nautical miles from its eastern tip where Dawahon Island is located up to the western end they call Kanawayon. Since time immemorial, this stretch of countless marine lives' natural habitat is the source of sustainance among the people of the islands within its periphery like, Dawahon, Hingotanan and Bilangbilangan whose main livelihood is fishing. Dismally though, most of them adapted a method which is seriously destructive to the reef's natural beauty and abundance. Dynamite fishing is what most of these fishers preferred to use due to its convenience, economical, quick turnaround despite the danger associated to it. Anybody can easily lost a limb let alone a life, if a dynamite fisher is not extra careful and lucky enough at some unfortunate moment a dynamite would prematurely explode in his hands even before it can be released to the sea where the schools of fish are. Everybody knows its inherent danger but it did not deter them from engaging in the practice since this is the only means they knew for their families to survive.
Ironically, it is a culture handed down from generations but the government was never serious in its effort to change it. They never stopped to control it though but their resolve were missing the decisiveness to implement the existing laws against these illegal activities as clearly seen in their habitually lackadaisical efforts to enforce it. It could probably be because there is no sufficient funding from the government to sustain a vigorous campaign to completely solve the problem. To me, the change should start from the government. They should adapt and introduce a proactive approach instead, one that would completely change the practice for a safer and more productive result. Locales should be taught new techniques in modern fishing technologies. Make available to these people the logistics needed for them to start and go on with their lives. Unfortunately, nothing has been done until now. What was feared a few years back, was that the inaction of both sides would have inevitably exacerbated the situation and the impending extinction and complete destruction of the coral seabed in the reefs of Danahon due to rampant dynamite fishing, could not have been avoided had it not been for the miraculous discovery of the BFAD, that the reef provides itself a perfect habitat for the mass culture and cultivation of the phenomenon called SEAWEED.
God is so good. He could not afford His people in this part of the islands go hungry when the Danahon Reefs is totally gone and rendered useless. The reefs' depth and flow of underwater current turned out to be a perfect habitat for a marine product called SEAWEED which comes in different varieties like: cottonii, agar-agar, eucheuma and spinusum. In the late 1970's, the by-product of this marine treasure called CARRAGEENAN, was scientifically discovered by the scientists in the United States, Japan, England and Europe to be an excellent stabilizer and thickening agent for toothpaste making, fire fighting foam, shampoo and cosmetic creams, gel for shoe polish, ice cream, milk shakes, sweetened condensed milk and sauces and many more in place of the more expensive animal-based products like gelatin, which is an extract from animal bones.
Its worlwide demand opened up the floodgates to an unprecedented economic transformation amongst the people of Dawahon and Hingotanan when it was clearly determined that the reef barriers of Danahon was found to be an excellent environment for the cultivation of this enormously promising marine product.
Contibuted by:
GilPadz
gilpicador@yahoo.com
Los Angeles, California and Hingotanan
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvC0e97I9RU
www.youtube.com/watch?v=B348ePS5NXw
DANAHON REEF: One of the several natural coral reef barriers in the world, a smaller one though. It covers an area of about 1,500 hectares right in the midst of Leyte, Bohol and Cebu and in part geographically belongs to Southern Leyte on its eastern side and Bohol on the western end. The area stretches about 5 nautical miles from its eastern tip where Dawahon Island is located up to the western end they call Kanawayon. Since time immemorial, this stretch of countless marine lives' natural habitat is the source of sustainance among the people of the islands within its periphery like, Dawahon, Hingotanan and Bilangbilangan whose main livelihood is fishing. Dismally though, most of them adapted a method which is seriously destructive to the reef's natural beauty and abundance. Dynamite fishing is what most of these fishers preferred to use due to its convenience, economical, quick turnaround despite the danger associated to it. Anybody can easily lost a limb let alone a life, if a dynamite fisher is not extra careful and lucky enough at some unfortunate moment a dynamite would prematurely explode in his hands even before it can be released to the sea where the schools of fish are. Everybody knows its inherent danger but it did not deter them from engaging in the practice since this is the only means they knew for their families to survive.
Ironically, it is a culture handed down from generations but the government was never serious in its effort to change it. They never stopped to control it though but their resolve were missing the decisiveness to implement the existing laws against these illegal activities as clearly seen in their habitually lackadaisical efforts to enforce it. It could probably be because there is no sufficient funding from the government to sustain a vigorous campaign to completely solve the problem. To me, the change should start from the government. They should adapt and introduce a proactive approach instead, one that would completely change the practice for a safer and more productive result. Locales should be taught new techniques in modern fishing technologies. Make available to these people the logistics needed for them to start and go on with their lives. Unfortunately, nothing has been done until now. What was feared a few years back, was that the inaction of both sides would have inevitably exacerbated the situation and the impending extinction and complete destruction of the coral seabed in the reefs of Danahon due to rampant dynamite fishing, could not have been avoided had it not been for the miraculous discovery of the BFAD, that the reef provides itself a perfect habitat for the mass culture and cultivation of the phenomenon called SEAWEED.
God is so good. He could not afford His people in this part of the islands go hungry when the Danahon Reefs is totally gone and rendered useless. The reefs' depth and flow of underwater current turned out to be a perfect habitat for a marine product called SEAWEED which comes in different varieties like: cottonii, agar-agar, eucheuma and spinusum. In the late 1970's, the by-product of this marine treasure called CARRAGEENAN, was scientifically discovered by the scientists in the United States, Japan, England and Europe to be an excellent stabilizer and thickening agent for toothpaste making, fire fighting foam, shampoo and cosmetic creams, gel for shoe polish, ice cream, milk shakes, sweetened condensed milk and sauces and many more in place of the more expensive animal-based products like gelatin, which is an extract from animal bones.
Its worlwide demand opened up the floodgates to an unprecedented economic transformation amongst the people of Dawahon and Hingotanan when it was clearly determined that the reef barriers of Danahon was found to be an excellent environment for the cultivation of this enormously promising marine product.
Contibuted by:
GilPadz
gilpicador@yahoo.com
Los Angeles, California and Hingotanan
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 10°16'21"N 124°34'2"E
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