Does anyone have knowlege about the damage caused by thr SY Philippine Syren, at rock point west,Apo ??.. Maybe someone has to think about these large live aboards that are diving in this area.. I am sure that the live aboard of Atlantis resort (that is always moored directly over the reef and where the rare sea horses are) is not good for the dive environment.. Miguel
I'll have some information later this day (also about the damage caused in the Marine Sanctuary in Maayong Tubig caused by a Cargo Vessel last week). But in all fairness, I believe a modern liveabroad like the one you mentioned causes way less impact than the average bangka. We both know it is not bilge water what the exhaust pipe spits out, don't we ? Or how about the one Delta ship which blows more dirt out than probably all trikes together. Don't get me wrong, those kind of Ships which come to this area should stay some 100 meters off-shore. I saw this ship several times in the Apo Area and it was always further out, brought the divers in to the dive-site on smaller boats. I contacted the owner of the liveabroad as well several Dive-Shops in our area (which dive Apo right now) and hope for a statement in both cases.
The 15 th of may I was on a liveaboard with the Azores of Atlantis to the Tubattaha reef and I also saw over there the SY Philippines Azores. And the beautifull Tubattaha reef (north and south atol) is also protected and fishing is not allowed in that area It is forbidden to anker on the reefs and there are special made ankering places where it is allowed to anker the boat, and from there you go by ribs to the dive spots. I dont know if Apo have some of those ankering places for those big ships, and if they dont have it , it is time to make it. Greetings J.Diver
I'm surprised that there isn't a mooring program on Apo and Tubbataha....or maybe there is and no one has talked about it. Anchoring is not good for the reef no matter how careful a crew may be in setting it(I hope they just don't drop it). We have a great program here in Hawaii that has installed over 100 moorings eliminating anchoring on the choice dive sites. I provided the printed manual on our program to an operator on Malapascua as I understand they are establishing a mooring program. Right now they just tie a mooring line/chain to a large coral head and add a surface float, which is a start, but not the preferred method.
