Personnel of the DENR-Tañon Strait Protected Seascape (TSPS) and volunteer divers removed more than 1,200 Crown-of-Thorns (COTs) starfish, locally called salanay or dap-ag, that prey on coral polyps, in the waters of Malabagon Reef in Escalante City.
The Community Environment and Natural Resources Office Cadiz said the August 3 to 4 event, in coordination with the city government of Escalante, netted hundreds of COT, or Acanthaster planci, a large starfish that preys on coral polyps.
Polyps are those tiny, soft-bodied organisms related to sea anemones and jellyfish, whose hard, protective limestone skeleton, called a calicle, forms the structure of coral reefs, as per the National Geographic, adding that reefs begin when a polyp attaches itself to a rock on the sea floor, then divides, or buds, into thousands of clones.
The COT is a well-known coral predator, and outbreaks could cause serious harm to coral reefs in the marine ecosystem, the CENRO Cadiz press release said.
One of the reasons for the COT outbreak was the over-collection of its biggest predator, the Triton shell, it added.
The COTs were removed manually, using long sticks and mesh bags, to prevent spawning.
These bags were handed to boatmen, injected with vinegar to kill them, then buried by Bantay Dagat personnel, the CENRO added. ||
