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Lamon
Bay and Alabat Island
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Location:
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13°55'-14°15'N, 122°00'-122°20'E; 120 km southeast of Metro Manila, on the Pacific Coast of Quezon Province, Luzon. |
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Area:
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c.225 km of coastline; Alabat Island 9,150 ha. |
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Altitude:
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Sea level. |
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Biogeographical
Province:
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4.26.12. |
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Wetland
type:
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01, 02, 03, 06, 07 & 10. |
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Description
of site:
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A large sea bay and island on the indented Pacific coast of Luzon, consisting of predominantly coral shore with pockets of intertidal mudflat and mangrove in the smaller bays. In many places, the nearshore corals have died and have been covered with silt to form sandy flats. The island of Alabat (33 km long) has an extensive mangrove fringe along its southwest shore, with several hundred hectares of intertidal mudflats exposed at low tide. Large portions of the original mangrove forest have been degraded or completely destroyed for the construction of fish and shrimp ponds. The average tidal rise and fall is about l.25m. |
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Climatic
conditions:
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Humid tropical climate with no dry season, but a very pronounced period of maximum rainfall from November to January (Type II). The Bay is unprotected from the northeast monsoon, trade winds and cyclones. |
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Principal
vegetation:
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Thirty species of mangrove and mangrove associates have been recorded on Alabat Island. The dominant species are Sonneratia alba, Avicennia marina. A. officinalis, Rhizophora mucronota and Nypa fruticans. The principal vegetation in adjacent areas is coastal scrub and plantations of Cocos nucifera, together with other subsistence crops, mainly rice and root vegetables. |
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Land
tenure:
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A mixture of state and private ownership. |
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Conservation
measures taken:
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None. |
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Conservation
measures proposed:
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The Mangrove Forest Research Center (Forest Research Institute) at Pagbilao has made a proposal for a mangrove rehabilitation programme on Alabat Island. Howes (1987) proposes management of suitable areas for replanting of mangrove species and prevention of further conversion to fish ponds. Future surveys are needed to determine the use of the Bay by migratory shorebirds. |
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Land
use:
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Marine fisheries (finfish and shellfish), aquaculture (fish and shrimp ponds), small-scale collection of mangrove products for the local market, quarrying of coral for construction materials, and hunting (shorebirds and monitor lizards). The surrounding areas are used for agriculture, mainly rice, vegetables and Cocos nucifera. |
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Possible
changes in land use:
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| Disturbances and threats: | The main threats are the large-scale conversion of mangrove swamp into commercial culture ponds for milkfish and shrimps, and the indiscriminate cutting of mangrove trees for construction purposes, fuel and charcoal production. Other threats include over-fishing in the inshore zone by trawlers, fishing with dynamite on the coral reefs, uncontrolled cutting of Nypa fruticans for shingle production, and illegal hunting of shorebirds and lizards. |
| Economic and social values: | The Bay supports an important fishery which provides a major source of food and income for the local community. The site is also important for fisheries research. The mangroves create an erosion barrier between coastal villages and the northeast monsoon. |
| Fauna: | An important staging area for migratory shorebirds and a feeding area for Ardeidae. Forest Research Institute personnel reported large numbers of shorebirds foraging on intertidal areas on the southeastern coast of Alabat Island in September 1986, along with 300 Bubulcus ibis, 200 Egretta garzetta and 200 E. alba. Howes (1987) found smaller numbers of Egretta spp and eight species of shorebirds at three sites in April 1987. |
| Special floral values: | Small pockets of accreting Avicennia marina mangrove provide an excellent example of this vegetation type in the Philippines. |
| Research and facilities: | A government office, the Lamon Bay School of Fisheries, has been established at Lopez. Forest Research Institute personnel from the Mangrove Forest Research Center at Pagbilao conducted vegetation transects in the mangroves on the southwest side of Alabat Island in 1986, and the Forest Research Institute and Asian Wetland Bureau conducted wetland evaluation work with respect to shorebirds in 1986 and 1987 (Howes, 1987). |
| References: | Alonzo-Pasicolan (1987); Howes (1987). |
| Criteria for inclusion: | 1b, 1c, 2c, 3b. |
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Source:
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Haribon Foundation and John R. Howes. |