| 2024 Saving Philippine Reefs: Coral Reef Monitoring Expedition to Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, Sulu Sea, Philippines | |
| Publication Type | Report |
| Year of Publication | 2024 |
| Authors | White A, Dacal D, Diaz R, Tan N, Cancino A, Sabonsolin A |
| Institution | Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation, Inc. |
| City | Cebu City |
| Abstract | In May 2024 the “Saving Philippine Reefs” (SPR) expedition team undertook its 9th monitoring trip to Tubbataha Reefs in the Sulu Sea to collect basic data on the status of the reefs and fish biota. This expedition provided data for the monitoring program that started in 1984 and we now have a 40-year perspective on these reefs, their associated marine life and selected cause and effect events that have influenced them. This report summarizes the data collected in May 2024 and compares it with data from past years.
Located in the middle of the Sulu Sea some 150 km from land, the Tubbataha Reef Natural Park (TRNP) and World Heritage Site consists of the two Tubbataha coral atoll reefs and the submerged Jessie Beasley Reef to the north. The park, which is a no-take area, covers 970 km^2 and is surrounded by a 10 nautical mile wide buffer zone, bringing the total area that is protected to 3,565 km^2. It includes an estimated 100 km2 of coral reef, all within the no-take zone, and contains a diverse and abundant array of fish, corals and marine wildlife in clear and pollution free waters. Studies to date have recorded 14 cetaceans, 7 seagrasses, 79 algae, 360 corals, 28 species of sharks, skates and rays, about 800 other fish species, 2 turtle species, 7 resident breeding seabirds and a further 100 plus migrant birds. |
| File | SPR_2024_Tubbataha |
