A research  assistant  of  the  Marine  Mammal Study  of  Silliman  University  Marine  Laboratory  yesterday said  the  two  dolphin  stranding  cases cannot  be  considered  alarming,  because the death of the dolphins cannot be  determined yet.

Edna  Sabater  admitted, though, that disturbance in  habitat  and  threat  to their  food  chain  would  affect  the  decreasing  population of  dolphins.  Based  on 2007 records, there  were  dolphin stranding resulted in five deaths, two in 2008 and another was rescued, and in January this year, two dolphin strandings were reported.

Sabater said dolphins are usually victims of incidental stranding, but some by intentional catching.  She suggested that every local government unit should establish a marine mammal stranding network, whose members should be trained  in  the proper  handling  of  the  marine  mammals.

She  added that it  is possible  that  there  are  still  unreported  marine  mammal  stranding  in  the  province  because of  the lack  of  capability  and  information on  what  to  do.  

There are  now 10  species of  dolphin  found  in Tanon  Strait  of  Negros and  Cebu islands  out  of  the  27  species  found  in  the  Philippines. The latest survey  revealed six  species  of  dolphins  in  Tanon  Strait.

Meanwhile, provincial tourism officer Myla Abellana said she was worried about the dead spinner dolphin found in  Ayungon  and  Guihulngan  towns recently.

The  fishermen  suspected  that  the  dead  dolphins  were  accidentally  caught in the fish net because they were  not wounded. Unconfirmed  reports  said  big  fishing vessels  had been monitored  in  the  Tanon  Strait  which  is  a  protected  seascape.

Abellana  said government  agencies  should  take  action  since  these incidents will greatly  affect  the  tourism  industry of  the  province.*MA

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