On June 18, a Vietnamese cargo ship damaged artificial reef domes when it ran aground off Sarangani Bay near Makar port.
What happened?
The Vietnamese cargo ship ‘HTK Energy’ was enroute to Makar port when it ran aground off Sarangani Bay. Due to the vessel running aground, around 200 artificial domes were damaged.
The damaged artificial domes were habitat for various species of fishes and a protected area located off Barangay Dadiangas South.
Omar Saikol, Assistant Superintendent of the Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape confirmed that artificials domes were indeed destroyed by the vessel running aground.
Damage assessed
The environmentalist and the Sarangani Bay’s Protected Area Management Board are assessing the damage caused to the habitat. After the assessment has been carried out and fines will be imposed on the concerned people.
Katherine Lopez Bitco, an environment management specialist at the city environment office, said, “The artificial reefs, located 20 meters from the shore, were constructed more than 10 years ago by environmentalists. The damage is quite extensive and the area could reach 100 to 200 square meters”.
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Source: Globalnation
