Crown-of-thorns starfish outbreak threatens Sarangani’s marine life

Divers remove crown-of-thorns starfish from corals in Glan, Sarangani on JUne 6, 2022. Photo courtesy of PAMO Office/SBPS

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 16 June) — A possible outbreak of the crown-of-thorns starfish poses a threat to the livelihood of fishermen in Sarangani, an official at the Protected Area Management Office of the Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape (SBPS) said on Wednesday.

Cirilo Lagnason Jr., Deputy Protected Area Superintendent of SBPS said there has been a noticeable increase in the number of this starfish species in the towns of Glan, Maasim and Kiamba, areas whose economies are still trying to recover from the impact of the pandemic.

He said more dive spots there have recently had an increase of hundreds of starfish within a 100-square meter radius.

He said the number decreased after they conducted a cleanup last month but it again increased this month.

He said they alone could not clean up the affected area which he placed at two hectares.

Lagnason urged stakeholders such as beach resort owners and big companies in Sarangani to focus on the problem posed by the starfish instead of on tree planting as part of their corporate social responsibility.

He said it needed an urgent solution as the starfish have crowded the reefs.

He said the starfish will destroy the corals, which serve as a habitat for fish.

Several residents of Sarangani depend on fishing for livelihood.

Lagnason said that with the help of divers they have removed over 100,000 starfish since October 2021 and they planning to extract more in the next few days. (Richelyn Gubalani/MindaNews)