This morning’s survey site was somewhat sand-and-no-fish, so we skipped school this afternoon and went for a fun dive in the reserve at Masaplod Norte in Dauin.
My survey sites for work were selected at random, so most are outside reserves, and its pretty much pot luck what we see. Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised - last week the most unlikely looking site right next to the entrance of a port turned out to have a fantastic bit of reef - but we also get a lot of mediocre dives too. So I grabbed a rare opportunity to dive inside a well-enforced reserve today.
It always amazes me how effective these tiny little reserves are - as soon as we got into the sanctuary there were fish everywhere - not just little pretty ones, but big schools of juicy dinner fish too. It’s surprising how much the behaviour of the fish changes - inside reserves they’re much less afraid of divers, making it a lot easier to get up close and take photos.
I now feel ready to espouse the benefits of no-take marine reserves once more! 150 pesos well spent.
Becks is a marine ecology PhD student, living in Queensland (Australia), Dumaguete (Philippines) and London (UK). Marinegirl is her online alter-ego. She dreamt her up as as super-gorgeous superhero saving the underwater world (if you've seen Captain Planet, you get the idea). She is not, and never will be, in the marines.