April 18,2012 COTS Outbrea Can Be Neutralized By Continual Monitoring/Extraction Of Its Popul ation- BFAR Staff by Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.

Maasin City, Southern Leyte-The Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (COTS) outbrea affecti ng some areas in Southern Leyte and one in the neighboring municipality of Inopa can,in the northern part of Leyte province, can be neutralized by continuous mon itoring and regular extraction of the marines pests that devour coral reefs. This was the statement of Anecito G. Cortes of BFAR-Maasin office in a recent in terview. The four places where the outbrea s have occurred were Maasin, Padre Bu rgos, Limasawa Island and Tomas Oppus. Cortes disclosed that Limasawas surrounding seas have the biggest sizes of COTS t hat settled 15 to 18 meters deep. It devoured mushrooms and table corals underne ath on big volumes. Coral reef eaten by the crown-of-thorns starfishes appeared w hite. he said. The huge sizes of COTS has ma e us believed that Limasawa Island is the breeding place for COTS. He confided that during monitoring and extraction of COTS in Padre Burgos and Li masawa resorts divers of the area including the Coral Cay volunteer divers have assisted BFAR personnel. The gathering/harvesting of COTS in the island municipality, he divulged, exceed ed in great number compared to Maasins 30,000 during a whole day synchronized mon itoring in all barangays of the city. The municipalities of Macrohon and Malitbog showed that theses towns were also C OTS-infested. The Sogod Bay municipalities that were monitored, Cortes said, wer e Bontoc, Sogod and Libagon, which were classified as non-infested areas where C OTS presence were almost nil. Monthly Monitoring Reina C. Lagumbay of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Management Office conveyed that LGUs monitoring of their fish sanctuaries including nearby coral reefs were conducted every three months. However, the BFAR staff here stressed that quarterly monitoring is not ideal in areas that are prone to COTS infestation. Monthly monitoring of the marine pests is ideal to chec in particular the COTS population, he said. His statement was li ewise supported by a Southern Leyteo diver who has had dived various fish sanctuaries of the province, but does not want to be identified. The aforesaid diver pointed out that PENRMO officer Eva Abad should hire/employ a trained provincial diver who would assist or lead LGU municipalities where the re are existing fish sanctuaries and coral reefs on its scheduled monthly monito ring. On the other hand, Lagumbay informed that 20 COTS occupying in a one-hectare cor al reefs are needed to balance the marine life. Diminishing the count of 20 by ex traction is not advisable. It will create an imbalance in the marine area, she sa id. The BFAR staff further said that they have admonished LGU-Limasawa to upload the ir COTS photos in the internet and as for financial assistant to fund their con

tinuous monitoring and extraction of the COTS population until such time that th e marine pests will be neutralized. Or they can also as trained divers in the neighboring provinces of Cebu,Bohol a nd part of Mindanao to volunteer in the monitoring and extraction of COTS. COTS predators, in particular the Titan Triggerfish and Pacific Triton are now c onsidered as endangered species due to overfishing, Cortes claimed. This fishes e at big and matured COTS, he intimated. But they are being exported live to other c ountries. Other specie is the Giant Clam (ta lobo) that also devour big COTS.. In gathering/harvesting the Crown-of-Thorns Starfishes (COTS) fishermen and volu nteer divers are advised not to catch the marine pests by the hands. The high pe rcentage of being pric ed by its poisonous spi es is painfully infectious. For pic ing use bamboo stic s or metal thongs and put it inside the crates for b ringing it towards the shore. Apply the suitable chemical to ill them before bu rying it. Other COTS predators that eat either its eggs,finderlings,young or adult COTS ar e harlequin shrimps, puffer fishes(Botete),red and spangled Emperor(Katamba ),co ral-li e polyp/worm(botbot),trapezia(a ind of crabs),helmet shells(budyong) and Triton Trumpet(tambuli). Cortes further informed that the Panaon Island municipalities and that of the Pa cific towns shall also be subjected to undersea ocular inspection by the BFAR di vers and local divers of their respective coral reefs and fish sanctuaries to se e if their municipal waters were safe from the COTS infestation. On the other hand, the ample breeding and propagation of the three principal COT S predators, the Titan Triggerfish, Pacific Triton and Giant Clam in different m unicipal seawaters of the province will obviously prevent COTS infestation or it s outbrea . Its also recommended by the marine biologists not to injure the COTS, as it will lay millions of eggs under stress condition.(Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.)