DENR-SUSIMO project site in Carles, Iloilo, Philippines

Mangrove community
structure survey
Nerissa D. Salayo, Jorge H. Primavera, and Jon P. Altamirano
SEAFDEC/AQD, Iloilo, Philippines
<[email protected]>

Carles is one of the major sources of marine and aquacultured fish in Iloilo
province, producing 80,300 mt in 2002. The municipality is located in the north-
east tip of Panay Island (see map). The territorial waters of Carles take a large
portion of the Visayan Sea and its coast has 1,539 hectares of fishponds.
The importance of mangroves in capture fisheries, aquaculture and the
lives of coastal residents manifests in the activities of the Northern Iloilo Man-
grove Rehabilitation Program mainly funded by the Japan Bank for Interna- Map of Carles, Panay Island
tional Cooperation (JBIC). This program is managed by the Sub-Project Site
Management Office (SUSIMO) of the Department of Environment and Natu-
ral Resources (DENR) with the active participation of its beneficiary, the
Highlights
MACABATA-ARM Inc. (which stands for Manlot, Cabilao, Bancal, Tarong  The 13 sample sites for the MCSS shown on the
Association for the Rehabilitation of Mangroves Inc.), a people's organization
map on this page altogether listed 18 mangrove
registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 2001 with
species dominated by Avicennia marina, locally
366 members. As per DENR-JBIC project agreement, the mangrove rehabili-
called 'miapi'. Other major species are
tation project covers 53 1 hectares that is now replanted with Rhizophora
Sonneratia alba, Ceriops decandra, and
mucronata.
Bruguiera cylindrica (table at right).
With this on-going rehabilitation and involvement of the local people, base-  Rhizophora mucronata (photos at right), the spe-
line information on the characteristics of the mangrove community and the cies being planted to rehabilitate mangroves in
people living in the coast need to be established - one of them is an assessment Carles, was only moderately found during the
of the mangrove community structure of the project site. This information is survey, as were A. rumphiana and Camptostemon
useful for further studies, including valuation of resources, and the estimation philippinensis.
of the costs and benefits from rehabilitation and conservation of mangroves.  Species locally known as dungon, bantigi, nilad/
These studies comprise the SEAFDEC/AQD-JIRCAS socio-economics project
sagasa, piagaw and tawalis were least found dur-
on sustainable aquaculture systems.
ing the survey.
The seven mangrove-fringed coastal barangays of Carles were chosen as  A site in Brgy Cabilao Grande recorded the high-
study site. On April 2003, the authors of this article conducted a mangrove com- est species diversity with impressive 14 species
munity structure survey (MCSS) in 13 selected sites in five mainland barangays sighted, including Aegiceras floridum, Osbornia
and two island barangays in Carles (see map). The MCSS aims to qualitatively octodonta, and Pemphis acidula that are rarely
describe the species composition, community structure and plant biomass of found in Panay.
mangrove forest.
Below is a photo-essay of field activities involved in MCSS following the
methods of English et al. (1994).

General inspection of the study

area to determine the location of
representative sites, aside from
references to maps. Thirteen sites
were identified to represent the (a) Setting of
seven barangays covered by the corner markers
study area; (b) various environ- for 10 m x 10
mental parameters such as low, m quadrat that
mid and high intertidal zones; and is a sample
(c) main forest types according to representative
tree species. of each site.

2 SEAFDEC Asian Aquaculture 25 (3) July-September 2003

 mangrove survey in Carles, Iloilo by n.d. salayo et al.

Mangrove species identified during the mangrove community

structure survey (MCSS) in Carles, Iloilo, April 2003 the mature trees are dy-
ing. This at least indi-
Local name (Ilonggo) Scientific name cates the likelihood of
replacements if at least
saging-saging Aegiceras floridum a few seedlings survive.
miapi Avicennia marina  Other interesting sites
miapi Avicennia officinalis include those which are
bungalon Avicennia rumphiana
characterized by a wide
pototan Bruguiera cylindrica
baras-baras Ceriops decandra
strip of mangroves like
gapas-gapas Camptostemon philippinensis the intertidal area in
tungog Ceriops tagai Brgy Pantalan with big
alipata Excoecaria agallocha S. alba and A. marina
dungon Heritiera littoralis trees; and naturally-
tabao Lumnitzera racemosa growing R. mucronata
tawalis Osbornia octodonta trees and saplings (right,
bantigi Pemphis acidula middle).
bakhaw-lalaki Rhizophora apiculata
bakhaw-babae Rhizophora mucronata  The site at the mouth of a
pagatpat Sonneratia alba river, in tidal streams
nilad/sagasa Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea along fishpond dikes, in
piagaw Xylocarpus mekongensis Brgy Tupaz is a 20 m-
wide mangrove belt
(right, bottom) that is
also characterized by
 Sites located between in- naturally growing R.
lets and fishpond dikes re- mucronata trees and
corded high species diver- saplings.
sity, for example, the
above mentioned site in
 There are other man-
Brgy Cabilao Grande and grove species found in the survey area but not listed in the
two other sites in Brgy sample quadrats. These include R. stylosa, Xylocarpus
Tupaz and in Brgy Manlot. granatum, and Nypa fruticans or nipa that is commonly
used as roofing. Mangrove associate species that are lo-
 The site in Brgy Tarong cally called 'roma', 'dapdap', 'bancal' and 'talisay' are
(right, top) is distinguished
also often abundant in back mangal areas. They were not
by the abundance of A. ma-
within the quadrats in the 13 sample s i t e s . p a g e 18
rina seedlings even though

Recording of data on
slate boards, which
would be analyzed
Identification and counting of using established
Identification and counting of trees. Identification and counting of saplings. seedings. MCSS parameters.
Measuring the tree girth at 1.3 m height

SEAFDEC Asian Aquaculture 25 (3) July-September 2003 3

plant biology such as the origin and evolu- Belly, Bangus Chicharon, Bangus Tocino
mangrove survey ... from page 3
tion of plastids and mitochondria, again, and Tilapia Tocino. Samples for tasting
using marine algae as models. In addition, laid out at the booth were crowd drawers.
the group has initiated a project on the ge- The fresh fish used for the products
 These findings, which indicate modest
yet declining diversity of mangroves
netic structure of kelp populations in the were all grown in the fertile waters of
in Carles, reinforce the need for their
English channel, a topic that bridges knowl- Lake Buluan without any artificial ferti-
protection and management. This is
edge in genetics with oceanography. lizers, chemicals, pesticides and antibi-
not only in view of the importance of
Dr Kloareg is also the head of a joint otics enabling the company to promote
mangroves as habitat for fish and shell-
laboratory in St. Malo, France, where he is the processed fish as "Organic Products
fish juveniles that replenish the stocks
able to pursue the development and use of for a Healthier You!" Furthermore all
for capture fisheries and aquaculture
oligosaccharides as an alternative approach the products are Halal certified. This
(a major livelihood for many coastal
to disease control in both marine and agri- means the products have been prepared
communities), but also for the fact that
cultural crops. Dr Kloareg considers in adherence to approved Islamic stand-
Carles is one of the few remaining ar-
phycopathology a new science in ards and can be sold in all Muslim coun-
eas in Panay where rare mangrove spe-
mariculture. tries.
cies could still be found.
That this is so is not surprising since
the founder of the company is a
REFERENCES
Philippines Maguindanao who also happens to be the Municipality of Carles. 1996. Socioeco-
mayor of the municipality of Buluan. nomic profile. Carles, Iloilo
Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu is a young English S, C Wilkinson, V Baker (eds).
Novel fish products and amiable entrepreneur who is fondly 1994. Survey manual for tropical ma-
from Lake Buluan called Mayor "Toto" by his constituency. rine resources. Australian Institute of
According to the company brochure, Marine Science. Townsville, Australia
Ever heard of Paksiw na Bangus in cans?
No? How about Tilapia Escabeche, Spicy EGMAFI is obliged and committed to
produce all kinds of Halal products. The ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Tilapia, Sweet and Sour Tilapia, and Tilapia The authors thank Dr. Jurgenne Primavera,
in Oil all conveniently canned and ready company was established in 1990 in
Mr Cesar Andrada, MACABATA-ARM Inc
to eat? If you are not into canned stuff how Barangay Maslabing, Maguindanao in
members, Mr. Antonio Latoza Jr, and all
about Tilapia Chorizo, Bangus Chorizo, the Autonomous Region of Muslim SUSIMO-DENR staff in Carles for the in-
Tilapia Chicharon and Bangus Chicharon? Mindanao (ARMM). Its primary con- sightful conversations about mangroves;
All these products and more were on dis- cern initially was the raising of bangus Mr Edgardo Ledesma for the map; and the
play at the booth of the EGM Agri Food and tilapia in cages and pens in Lake Japan International Research Center for
Industries (EGMAFI) of Buluan, Buluan. It is only recently that it Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) for financial
branched out into processing to widen support.
Maguindanao during the recently con-
th
cluded 7 Meeting of the BIMP-EAGA its market. According to Bureau of Fish-
Working Group on Fisheries Cooperation eries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)
held in Puerto Princesa City. The other Region XII Director Sani Macabalang, PO4-P kg-1 fish day -1) significantly lower PO4-P
EGMAFI products displayed were Tilapia EGMAFI set up its processing plant in (36.2) but did not differ with fish fed the com-
Fillet, Bangus Fillet, Tilapia Belly, Bangus General Santos City with technical as- mercial diet (64.8). Excretion rates decreased
sistance from BEAR. - WG YAP exponentially as fish weight increased but posi-
tively increased with feed ration. Excretion pat-
tern of milkfish revealed two peaks: the first
peak occurred 6 h after feeding and the second
A Q D publications ... from page 11 peak at 18 h for TAN and 21 h for PO4-P, coin-
ciding with the start of the daylight hours. TAN
cess. The socialization of children into fishing (31.2-263.0 g) were stocked in 12 units of 300- and PO4-P excretion accounted for 20.5-34.6%
reinforces the gender division of labor and space L fibreglass tanks filled with aerated seawater of total N consumed and 18.7-42.6% of P con-
in the coastal zone. The postprandial total ammonia-nitrogen (TAN) sumed respectively. Approximately 27.9-42.5%
and phosphate (PO -P) excretion of fish were
4
of N consumed and 47.2-58.5% of P consumed
Sumagaysay-Chavoso NS. 2003. Nitrogen estimated from changes in TAN and PO4-P con- were lost as faeces. Total nutrient losses were
and phosphorus digestibility and excretion centrations in water for 24 h. Digestibility was lower using the lab-lab diet (0.31 g N and 0.14
of different-sized groups of milkfish determined from the nitrogen, phosphorus and g P kg-1 fish) compared with the formulated di-
Cr2O3 content of the diets, and pooled faeces ets (0.47-0.48 g N and 0.17-0.19 g P kg-1 fish);
(Chanos chanos Forsskal) fed formulated
after the fish had been fed diets marked with the losses decreased per kg of fish as fish size
and natural food-based diets. Aquaculture increased. Results suggest that the diet and size
chromic oxide. TAN excretion rate (mg TAN
Research 34 (5): 407-418 kg-1 fish day-1) was significantly lowest (P<0.05) of fish influence wastage of N and P to the en-
Abstract. This study determined the digest- in medium to very big fish fed the lab-lab diet vironment with greater losses in small fish
ibility of nitrogen and phosphorus, and the ex- (60.8-124.4) and highest in small and medium and when artificial diets are used. Such meas-
cretion rate of different-sized groups of milkfish fish fed the SEAFDEC diet (333.3-331.6) and urements will provide valuable information for
fed a commercial diet, a SEAFDEC formulated small fish fed the commercial diet (280.1). Re- the preparation of N and P budgets for milkfish
diet or lab-lab (natural food-based diet). Fish gardless of size, fish fed lab-lab excreted (mg in grow-out systems. ###