LEFT: LAMAVE researchers conduct surveys
using their Baited Remote Underwater
Video System (BRUVS)
IMAGE: Steve De Neef (LAMAVE)SCIENCE
Saving Tubbataha’s
Tiger Sharks
Scientists in the Philippines are using tagging to
understand the range and behaviour of tiger sharks,
but are the boundaries of marine protected areas
enough to protect these near-threatened species?
Their elusiveness makes them a
diver’s dream encounter, but for
scientists studying tiger sharks, it is like
finding a needle in a haystack. Since
2015, researchers from the Large Marine
Vertebrates Research institute
Philippines (LAMAVE) and Tubbataha
Management Office (TMO) have been
studying these top predators in the
heart of the Coral Triangle.
Tiger sharks have almost disappeared
from Philippine waters, with one
exception: Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park
(TRNP). Located east of the island of
Palawan, TRNP sits along the Cagayan
Ridge, a string of extinct underwater
volcanoes in the Sulu Sea. The park
encompasses two huge coral atolls, the
north and the south atolls and the Jessie
Beazley Reef, which is a smaller coral
structure about 20 kilometres north of
the atolls. From the sky, the north and
the south atolls appear as giant rings of
corals – they are, in fact, all that remains
after the volcanoes became extinct.
Combined, they offer habitat for an array
of species, from corals and invertebrates,
to schooling fish and apex predators such
as tiger sharks.
By: LAMAVE
First discovered by divers in the
late 1970s, Tubbataha Reefs were
later declared as a strictly no-take
marine protected area (MPA) in 1988.
Today, it is a UNESCO World Heritage
Site and is recognised as one of the
Philippines’ oldest ecosystems and
one of the most extraordinary dive
sites on the planet. In a world where
oceans are in peril, the boundaries
of TRNP, which are patrolled by
rangers year-round, provide a lifeline
for biodiversity and the park is
abundant in many species that have
disappeared from coastal areas. TMO,
which manages the park, conducts
research, enforces the law and
manages tourism.
Tourism plays a key role in the
conservation of the park, as park
entrance fees provide the necessary
funding to manage and protect the site.
Currently, 15 accredited liveaboards
hold permits to visit the park, and
while the fees contribute to the park’s
management, the submission of
photos and videos taken by visiting
divers have also played a role in
shark conservation.