⌛ Snorkling with a net

the price of basic necessities is going up and salaries are not - we have provided a bag of rice to a few families when they are in dire straits - havent eaten in a few days dire straits - hunger is a problem here - the father catches fish - the family eats - no fish today- no meal today - try living in a small village for a while and see what the situation is for the poorest families

 

perhaps if his buddies had not blown up the reef and overfished for TODAY
yea, but they have - for short term gain - it only takes a few irresponsible people and everyone - responsible or not - suffers - most village kids here look years younger than their actual age - does that reflect good nutrition?

They need to stop having 10 kids each and destroying the reefs.
once again, yes of course - but its a catholic country and you are aware of the pope's stance on birth control- the US donates contraceptives but many of the nurses tasked to distribute them from municipal clinics believe its a sin to take them and dissuade their use - population growth is the biggest problem facing the philippines right now in my opinion
employment opportunities for women would reduce fertility rates - as it has elsewhere in the world - another factor to consider when thinking about economic development here - look what a lack of development is doing for central Africa and northern India in terms of high fertility rates and lack of health care -

 

Getting back to taking reef fish out for aquariums...and not in sanctuaries of course...there is one aspect I've noticed in the Visayas. There are large numbers of reef fish....and not a lot of predators...I'd say I see about ten times as many sharks and pelagics - generally - while diving in Oz or the Red Sea. The reef ecosystem in the Visayas (don't know if it applies to the whole country) seems way out of balance with what I see elsewhere...in which case grabbing a few for an aquarium...probably doing the reef a favour...