Both  public and private sectors in Negros Oriental are working   to  investigate and address the  suspected  infestation of the deadly Crown of Thorns starfish or Acanthaster planci  in the coral reefs in Siit, Siaton town, Negros Oriental.

This  was  after a freelance photographer and scuba diver,  Steve De Neef, reported and posted on  Facebook,  photos of  sudden, strange bloom of the sea creatures on coral reefs.

De Neef  said  that in the last two to three weeks, more than 12,000 Crown of Thorns starfish were collected by  some scuba divers and about  four fishermen. These common coral reef predators are nocturnal in nature. About 80 to 90 percent of those collected were juvenile, De Neef said.

He  added that during a daytime dive, he only found a few of the crown of thorns starfish.

Jamie and Nikki Ingram, owners of the Kookoo’s Nest Resort in Siit, and another resort owner have offered an incentive of P3  per Crown of Thorn starfish collected by the fisherman, who go on free dives during nighttime. But, the resources for such incentive cannot be sustained if the outbreak gets worse.

Jamie said they chanced upon the  coral predators in early November.

De Neef said  in one night dive alone, the last  on Sunday  they  collected 1,067 Acanthaster planci.  Later, these  was taken up to the mountains and  burned.

The crown of thorn feeds on the reef, and if in small numbers, these are not alarming  but  an outbreak or  massive infestation can destroy a reef very quickly, he said.

A survey is  going on  to determine the extent of the infestation and  volunteer divers include De Neef, the Ingram couple, Board Member Erwin Macias,  and dive instructor Andre Snoopy Montenegro.

Meanwhile, Mercy Teves, chief of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Division,  has sent two members  of her staff, Manric Barillo and Glendo Lazarte, to Siaton town  Monday.

Teves has assured that her office will provide  assistance for a  massive clean-up and harvesting of the crown of thorns starfish  in Siit.

The Siaton mayor and the barangay captain of Siit could not be contacted at press time to comment on  possible measures  can take  to solve the  problem.*JFP

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