Apo Island
One Of The World'S First Community Managed Marine Sanctuaries The Fishermen Closed Their Own Reef And The Fish Came Back · Dauin, Negros Oriental
APO ISLAND IS SMALL, DRY AND NOT ESPECIALLY PRETTY ABOVE THE WATER, AND IT IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PLACES IN MARINE CONSERVATION. IN THE EARLY 1980S ITS FISHERMEN AGREED, AFTER YEARS OF PERSUASION BY SILLIMAN UNIVERSITY IN DUMAGUETE, TO STOP FISHING PART OF THEIR OWN REEF. The catch had been collapsing. Within a few years the protected zone was full again and fish were spilling out of it into the waters they still fished. IT IS CITED INTERNATIONALLY AS PROOF THAT COMMUNITY-MANAGED SANCTUARIES WORK, and the model has been copied across the tropics. WHAT YOU ACTUALLY GET IS A WALL OF FISH AND GREEN TURTLES THAT GRAZE IN THE SHALLOWS AT ARM'S LENGTH. THE CONSTANT PROBLEM IS SNORKELLERS STANDING ON CORAL to photograph them. There is no ATM, little power and very little fresh water. Go early, because the sanctuary is small and the difference between the first boat and the third is enormous, and come from Dauin rather than on a large tour from further away.
Apo Island, Dauin, Negros Oriental, Dauin, Negros Oriental, Philippines
APO ISLAND IS REACHED BY BOAT FROM MALATAPAY OR DAUIN in Negros Oriental, about THIRTY TO FORTY-FIVE MINUTES, with DUMAGUETE the arrival city by air or ferry. MOST VISITORS COME ON DAY TRIPS from Dauin's dive resorts; a FEW SIMPLE GUESTHOUSES exist on the island. ENTRY, SNORKELLING AND DIVING FEES ARE COLLECTED BY THE COMMUNITY and fund the sanctuary wardens. THE SANCTUARY HAS A STRICT NO-TOUCH RULE and guides enforce it; STANDING ON CORAL IS THE COMMONEST VIOLATION and it is what damages the site. LANDING IS USUALLY THROUGH SURF ONTO A BEACH and crossings are cancelled in rough weather. THERE IS NO ATM, POWER IS LIMITED AND FRESH WATER IS SCARCE - bring what you need and take your rubbish away.