2) Fish Kills

Two local fisherman interviewed by the team confirmed the fish kills during the seismic survey. Of the 15 informants, three have confirmed the fish kills in their respective fishing grounds.

Marcelo Descaliar, a fisherman of So. Sumulog, Brgy. Buluangan, San Carlos City says that a day after the M/S Veritas Searcher zigzag the waters off their communities, at about 1 kilometer from the shoreline, the beach seine catches dead coral fishes. Fisherfolks from Guihulngan also told the team that marginal fishers have seen dead tuna on the waters.

Scientific studies have shown that “seismic blasting damages planktonic eggs and larvae found in the immediate vicinity of airguns and can reduces catches in commercial fisheries” (Dalen and Knutsen, 1985). Seismic blasting can cause behavioral modifications and reduce or eliminate available habitat for breeding / spawning, foraging and migration.

In Guihulngan, fisherfolk says that “baga” (bucaobucao in Ilonggo) almost vanished. Before the survey, Guihulngan is known as the source of the “baga” in the province but now it is almost gone.

3) No Consultations With The Fishing Communities

All respondents interviewed by the team express that they have no knowledge or information of the seismic survey and the exploration drilling at Tañon Strait.

One of the fishers even though that it is an illegal fishing vessels and even call for police to apprehend but bewildered to see the escort Coast Guard. Others though that the vessel is cleaning the seabed. Only a few knows that it is a seismic survey.

All of the local public officials interviewed by the team express disappointment on the apparent lack of information drive and subsequently of the exploration drilling. They said that the national government and national government agencies should have informed and consulted them.

The Department of Energy (DoE) and the JAPEX had visited the local government only from July to October this year, even as the Service Contract was issued way back in 2004. Their so-called “information drives” were attended by only a few people.

Amid the dangers that the seismic survey poised to the marine environment, JAPEX never informed the concern stakeholders in the Tañon Strait, there were no consultations or even information drives before the survey were conducted.

During Seismic survey, one of the chase boats handed down one-page flyers to fishers at the sea. The said flyers are informing the fishers to stay away from the survey vessel. There are coastal communities that were never informed of the seismic survey.

The lack of consultations with all stakeholders is apparent in the absence of participations of the fisherfolks and other concerned organizations in the process to secure the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC). It is not simply a matter of haste in approval of the ECC but the substance of the process itself.

While the projects involved cities / municipalities of three provinces, there were no public hearings or consultations conducted in Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental but only “visits,” in their own words.

It is worth reiterating that when we say “environmental impacts” it means “probable effects or consequence of proposed projects or undertakings on the physical, biological and socio-economic environment that can be direct or indirect, cumulative positive or negative.”

This might have prompted Dr. Angel Alcala of the Silliman University,a noted marine biologist to say, “IEE (Initial Environmental Examination) document (is) wanting in the critical survey of data and information needed for determining the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the proposed operation of JAPEX”.

It is only recently that the JAPEX and the Department of Energy conducts “information drives” on each of the cities and municipalities within the coverage area of their Service Contract 46. Yet, these so-called “information drives” were miserably attended by a few people, mostly local government and national line agencies employees or selected fisherfolk leaders. Posted by (Bulatlat.com)

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