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park also known as the tubbataha reefs natural park filipino bahurang tubbataha is a protected area of the philippines located in the middle of the sulu sea the marine and bird sanctuary consists of two huge atolls named the north atoll and south atoll and the smaller jessie beazley reef covering a total area of 97 030 hectares 239 800 acres 374 6 sq mi it is located 150 kilometres 93 mi southeast of puerto princesa the capital of palawan 2 the uninhabited islands and reefs are part of the island municipality of cagayancillo located roughly 130 kilometers 81 mi to the northeast of the reef 2 in december 1993 the unesco declared the tubbataha reefs national park as a world heritage site as a unique example of an atoll reef with a very high density of marine species the north islet serving as a nesting site for birds and marine turtles the site is an excellent example of a pristine coral reef with a spectacular 100 m perpendicular wall extensive lagoons and two coral islands 3 in 1999 ramsar listed tubbataha as one of the wetlands of international importance 4 in 2008 the reef was nominated at new7wonders of nature 5 the national park and the rest of the philippine archipelago is part of the coral triangle recognized as a center of marine biodiversity containing 75 of the described coral species and 40 of the world s reef fish 6 the area is under a grave threat due to overfishing and destructive fishing practices 7 research of scientists visiting the reefs since the 1980s revealed that the tubbataha reefs natural park contains no less than 600 fish species 360 coral species 11 shark species 13 dolphin and whale species and 100 bird species the reefs also serve as a nesting ground for hawksbill and green sea turtles geography edit the natural park is located near the middle of sulu sea 150 kilometers 93 mi southeast of puerto princesa covering a total of 97 030 hectares 239 800 acres 374 6 sq mi 2 the smaller jessie beazley reef is located about 20 kilometers 12 mi north of the two atolls geology edit tubbataha reef is situated on cagayan ridge an extinct underwater volcano and an island arc during the miocene being a true atoll structure it is believed that the atolls of tubbataha were formed as fringing reefs and volcanic islands this follows the classical charles darwin s theory that atolls are formed around an existing volcanic island when the volcanoes became extinct and the islands subsided over a long time only the corals remained which then continuously grew towards the surface the staircase like slopes of the modern reef are now a product of the fluctuating sea levels as the crust under cagayan ridge cools and subsides 8 9 history edit tubbataha reefs natural park driftwood palms and birds etymology edit the word tubbataha is a combination of two sama bajau words tubba and taha which together means a long reef exposed at low tide historically sama bajau peoples who have a nomadic lifestyle visit the reef from time to time although people from the islands of cagayancillo are frequent visitors of the reef they used the native vessel banka to sail and fish on gusong their local name for the tubbataha 10 protection edit a remote ranger station in the middle of the sulu sea tubbataha s isolation located in the middle of the sulu sea far from inhabitants of the nearest populated islands had preserved its marine resources from over exploitation over the years the two islets in tubbataha have no source of freshwater thus preventing habitation in the 1980s fishermen reaching tubbataha increased in numbers with the advent in motorized bangkas instead of the traditional sailboats fish had declined in other fishing grounds because of overfishing and soon tubbataha became a fishing destination because of its abundant marine life many fishermen used destructive fishing techniques like cyanide and dynamite fishing to maximize their catch 10 scuba divers and environmentalists campaigned to make the reefs a national marine park with the endorsement of the provincial government of palawan on august 11 1988 president corazon aquino signed proclamation no 306 establishing the two tubbataha reefs as a national marine park with an area of 332 square kilometres 82 000 acres this was the first time that the philippines had declared a marine area as a national park 10 11 in the early years of law enforcement by the presidential task force the rangers were housed in a simple canvas tent in 1996 a wooden structure was built but shifting sand soon rendered its foundations unstable at present the marine park rangers are housed in a styrofoam reinforced concrete structure on the southeast islet on tubbatha s north atoll 12 the national marine park was enlarged in 2006 to include the jessie beazley reef president gloria macapagal arroyo signed proclamation no 1126 on august 23 which increased the boundaries of the park by 200 to 970 30 square kilometres 239 770 acres the national park was also reclassified as a natural park it is guarded by armed rangers 24 hours 7 days a week 11 13 in 2013 during the 25th anniversary of the tubbataha reef s national park declaration the world wildlife fund announced plans to construct a modernized ranger station on a different site to effectively monitor and deal with illegal poaching activities the said project would cost php 50 million recognition edit it was declared a world heritage site by the united nations educational scientific and cultural organization unesco in december 1993 and falls under the protective management of the department of national defense dnd of the philippines it is currently under technical supervision by the palawan council for sustainable development pcsd and the department of environment and natural resources denr citation needed in 1999 ramsar listed tubbataha as one of the wetlands of international importance because of the variety of its marine life species and valuable role as a habitat for various animals 4 the tubbataha reef natural park was nominated by new7wonders foundation in the new 7 wonders of nature in 2007 but lost 5 in november 2015 tubbataha was declared by the asean s centre for biodiversity as the 35th asean heritage park 14 on july 25 2017 the tubbataha reef was designated as a particularly sensitive sea area pssa and an area to be avoided by the international maritime organization 15 management edit although the reefs are geographically part of the island municipality of cagayancillo palawan located roughly 130 kilometres 81 mi to the northeast of the reef 2 the park is managed by the tubbataha management office tmo in puerto princesa the islands are uninhabited except for the rotating 10 12 park rangers at the ranger s station located at the southernmost tip of the north atoll the combined team from the philippine navy philippine coast guard municipality of cagayancillo and the tmo stationed for two months at a time their job is to protect the park from illegal activities including fishing and collection of other marine life 16 ecology edit over 1000 species of marine life inhabit the reef with many considered endangered animal species found include manta rays lionfish sea turtles clownfish and sharks tubbataha has become a popular site for seasoned sport divers because of its coral walls where the shallow coral reef abruptly ends giving way to great depths these walls are also habitats for many colonies of fish giant trevally jacks hammerhead sharks barracudas manta rays palm sized moorish idols napoleon wrasse parrotfish and moray eels live in the sanctuary there also have been reported sightings of whale sharks and tiger sharks tubbataha is even home to cetaceans and hawksbill sea turtles eretmochelys imbricata which are critically endangered species being a unesco world heritage site all living organisms are protected vivid corals cover more than two thirds of the area and the waters around the reef are places of refuge for numerous marine lives the seemingly diverse ecosystem of this sanctuary rivals the great barrier reef having 350 coral species and 500 fish species in june 2009 an outbreak of the crown of thorns starfish was observed possibly affecting the ecological functioning of this relatively pristine coral reef 17 battery of barracuda taken in tubbataha tourism edit main articles tourism in the philippines and diving in the philippines tubbataha is considered one of the best dive sites in the world according to cnn travel 18 trips to tubbataha national marine park from puerto princesa operate during the diving season from mid march to mid june the period where the waves are calmest skies clear and water visibility of about 30 to 45 metres 98 to 148 ft the park is about ten hours by boat from the city all trips are vessel based or liveaboard as there are no accommodation facilities visitors stay on the yacht boat throughout their stay in the park 19 during the diving season ships dedicated for diving are usually booked years in advance especially during easter and the asian holidays called golden week 13 as of march 2011 the park entrance fee for individuals is pegged at us 75 00 or php3 000 00 20 in september 2010 palawan governor abraham kahlil mitra announced that local residents of palawan province can enter the tubbataha reef without paying the conservation fee 21 divers are advised to book their trips towards the middle or end of april as calm seas from april to june have a short window 22 although the sand bars around tubbataha are considered off limits to human beings tourists are allowed to set foot at the ranger station where they can purchase souvenirs and tour the facility 1000 bill the park is featured on the reverse side of the 2010 series of the philippine one thousand peso bill ship grounding incidents edit yms 340 edit in october 1945 the auxiliary motor minesweeper yms 340 ran hard aground on tubbataha reef causing minor damage to the reef te uss leland e thomas de 420 was unable to pull yms 340 from the reef and radioed for assistance the uss gillette de 681 arrived and yms 340 was towed off the reef and escorted to manila by the uss gillette and the us navy tug vireo 23 24 rainbow warrior edit on october 31 2005 the greenpeace ship rainbow warrior ran aground on tubbataha reef accidentally damaging approximately 100 square metres 1 100 sq ft of reef for which they paid a fine of about 7 000 25 greenpeace blamed the accident on inaccurate charts provided by the philippine government 26 the bbc quoted greenpeace official red constantino as saying the chart indicated we were a mile and a half from the coral reef when the ship ran aground 26 greenpeace paid a fine 26 uss guardian edit see also uss guardian grounding on january 17 2013 the us navy minesweeper uss guardian ran aground at tubbataha reef 27 28 the u s government initially blamed the grounding on faulty maps 29 between 2011 and january 2013 before the grounding of the uss guardian there were eleven incidents involving ships including two philippine ships 30 the u s navy concluded that towing the ship off the reef would cause more damage and decided to dismantle the ship in place 29 on march 30 the last section of the ship was removed from the reef 29 no evidence of fuel leakage from the grounded vessel were found 31 on april 8 2013 the u s navy turned over digital navigation charts and other relevant documents and data of the guardian to the philippine maritime casualty investigating team mcit and responded to various technical and substantive queries 32 the mcit conducted its own independent investigation and made recommendations on how to avoid such incidents in the future 32 the u s government apologized for the incident and relieved five officers from duty 33 the initial investigation clearly indicated that these officers did not adhere to standard us navy navigation procedures 33 the world wide fund for nature philippines and the tubbataha management office measured the damage area at 2 345 67 square meters 25 248 6 sq ft 34 the u s federal government was assessed a fine of 24 000 philippine pesos about us 600 per square meter citation needed on january 20 2015 the united states government paid to the philippine government a total of 87 million philippine pesos or us 1 97 million 59 million philippine pesos for the damage and another 29 million pesos to reimburse for services provided by the philippine coast guard 33 the uss guardian aground in january 2013 the uss guardian aground as seen from above the ship on march 12 2013 as it was being salvaged by jascon25 f v min long yu edit on april 8 2013 the f v min long yu a chinese fishing vessel ran aground some 1 1 nautical miles 2 0 km 1 3 mi nautical miles east of the tubbataha reef ranger station the fishing vessel had 12 crew members and was suspected of illegal fishing on board what was found instead were 400 boxes of frozen pangolins of unknown origin 35 36 see also edit list of world heritage sites in the philippines list of protected areas of the philippines list of reefs asean heritage parks national geospatial intelligence agency apo reef verde island passage references edit tubbataha reefs natural park ramsar sites information service retrieved april 25 2018 1 2 3 4 location of tubbataha reef tubbataha reefs natural park archived from the original on march 12 2020 retrieved november 30 2019 world heritage list tubbataha reefs natural park unesco 1 2 global and ecological significance of tubbataha official website of the tubbataha reefs national park archived from the original on november 17 2016 retrieved february 11 2013 1 2 aie balagtas see august 14 2008 4 rp bets in new 7 wonders of nature drop in rankings gma news retrieved february 6 2013 the coral triangle website the nature convservancy archived from the original on october 28 2016 retrieved november 24 2013 mnepornuc august 5 2009 saving the coral triangle national geographic intelligent travel retrieved on 2013 11 24 munar jeffrey c aurelio mario a dumalagan edwin e tinacba erin joy c doctor ma angelique a siringan fernando p 2024 submerged reef features in apo and tubbataha reefs philippines revealed paleo sea level history during the last deglaciation geo marine letters 44 1 3 bibcode 2024gml 44 3m doi 10 1007 s00367 024 00764 7 formation of tubbataha official website of the tubbataha reefs national park archived from the original on october 3 2019 retrieved february 11 2013 1 2 3 history of tubbataha official website of the tubbataha reefs national park archived from the original on september 2 2019 retrieved february 11 2013 1 2 protected areas in region iv b mimaropa archived december 2 2013 at the wayback machine protected areas and wildlife bureau retrieved on november 24 2013 law enforcement archived september 17 2019 at the wayback machine tubbataha reefs natural park retrieved on november 24 2013 1 2 ma ceres p doyo january 23 2013 human face finding nemo in tubbataha philippine daily inquirer retrieved february 6 2013 tan la...
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