Marine conservation achievements

A year-by-year record of our reef monitoring, Marine Protected Areas and community work across Negros Oriental.

Since 2015 we have worked alongside local governments, fisherfolk, schools and universities across Negros Oriental to protect the reefs, seagrass and mangroves that coastal families depend on.

Our approach has stayed the same from the start: use science to understand how local and global pressures affect marine ecosystems, then build the local capacity to reduce and adapt to them. This page records what that work has achieved, year by year, with links to the reports, projects and posts behind the results.

Registered as: Marine Habitat Preservation of the Philippines Inc, a non-stock, non-profit NGO (SEC CN201506332)
Where we work: Reef monitoring in Zamboanguita, Siaton and Santa Catalina, MPA support across the BATASS and BATMAN alliances, and weekly clean-ups in Dauin and Dumaguete City: 14 municipalities in all
Governance: Permanent seat on the Protected Area Management Board for Apo Island

More about MCP

Our work in numbers

500+ haof marine habitat we have helped protect through stronger MPAsProtected areas & habitats

31,000trees planted with local communities and partnersProtected areas & habitats

2,000+reef surveys a year by our trained volunteer diversResearch & data

10,000+schoolchildren taught about the ocean in Negros OrientalEducation & outreach

120+government divers trained to monitor and protect their own MPAsCapacity building

427,000+kilos of marine litter collected with Pro Ocean since we started working togetherPlastics & livelihoods

Also: more than 1,000 metres of ghost nets removed by our mesophotic dive teams, and more than 10 crown-of-thorns outbreaks prevented.

2026

22 achievements
Last updated September 2026

Survey diver recording reef data on a slate above a transect tape

Research & data

Gave Coral Cay Conservation’s legacy a home

After CCC closed in 2022, we took on its name and archive so 36 years of volunteer reef science stays open to everyone: its history, 58 reports from 1997 to 2017, and a place for alumni to reconnect.

Visit the CCC legacy page

Students of Zamboanguita Science High School gathered for a group photo

Education & outreach

Rebuilt our free lessons for teachers

20 modules with 54 ready-to-teach lessons and two games for ages 8 to 18, rewritten with current science and a source for every fact.

Browse the lessons

First aid practice with an oxygen kit during an Emergency First Response course

Capacity building

Trained 29 sea wardens in first aid

First aid courses for 25 members of the Bantay Dagat, the local sea wardens, in Zamboanguita and 4 in Tanjay.

How we build local capacity

Provided funds and support for the fisherfolk associations of Zamboanguita and the Coastal Resource Management office of LGU Zamboanguita for their conservation work.
Protected areas & habitats
Took part in or organised community events with clean-ups, IEC (information, education and communication) and outreach activities, including International Coastal Cleanup Day, World Ocean Day, Earth Day, World Turtle Day and SCUBAsurero Siaton.
Education & outreach
Published a scientific paper on debris accumulation on coral reefs in Zamboanguita.
Research & data
Taught scuba diving to ten members of the DRRMO of Siaton and provided advanced training to members of the BATASS municipal alliance for marine conservation.
Capacity building
Organised and hosted a 12-person summer camp for local youth in May.
Education & outreach
Promoted dive tourism in San Jose by creating video and imagery for the opening of the Hidden Treasury MPA (local news story).
Plastics & livelihoods
Organised and hosted fisherfolk forums on juvenile fish research and sustainability.
Research & data
Published a scientific paper on the seagrass-reef interconnectedness of fish and invertebrate populations in southern Negros Oriental.
Research & data
Ran an extensive mangrove clean-up and delivered IEC to local children for World Mangrove Day.
Plastics & livelihoods
Removed ghost nets reported by volunteer divers at Bangcolotan, Zamboanguita, and Salag, Siaton, plus smaller nets at Antulang.
Plastics & livelihoods
Hosted a fisherfolk forum with LUFMULA and the Andulay Fishermen’s Association to present MCP survey findings and discuss marine resource monitoring.
Research & data
Provided dive and logistical support for UPMSI fish visual census surveys at the Andulay and Antulang Marine Protected Areas.
Research & data
Conducted exploratory dives at the Tandayag and BIO-OS Marine Sanctuaries in partnership with the Amlan MENRO and Bantay Dagat teams.
Protected areas & habitats
Conducted comprehensive MPA assessments and a feasibility study for Tanjay City, covering Tayabas Marine Sanctuary and the proposed Luca Marine Reserve.
Protected areas & habitats
Attended the BATASS alliance’s first-quarter meeting in Bais City, where MCP was invited to join as a technical support partner for marine conservation.
Capacity building
Assessed the mangrove, seagrass and coral reef habitats of an 86-hectare protected area in Bais City, with support from the LGU Bantay Dagat team.
Protected areas & habitats
Organised a mangrove planting activity with local stakeholders and the Philippine Coast Guard in Barangay Bonbonon, Siaton.
Protected areas & habitats
Hosted a youth camp for students of Basay National High School, inspiring conservation action.
Education & outreach
Hosted a marine conservation event in Barangay Salag, Siaton, with demarcation of the Salag Marine Reserve and a dive-based coastal clean-up alongside several partner agencies.
Protected areas & habitats

2025

18 achievements

After the October ethanol wastewater spill in Bais, organised a fundraiser and delivered relief goods to the island of Olympia, where fisherfolk were heavily affected.
Plastics & livelihoods
Launched an open-source reef data dashboard with real-time and historic data on the health of the coral reefs MCP monitors. Government agencies and academics can study broad trends, and fisherfolk can follow developments on their own reefs in fine detail.
Research & data
Gave keynote talks at the “Next Gen Leadership: Building a Future for Good Governance” youth conference in Dumaguete.
Education & outreach
Trained three government dive teams from the BATASS alliance, so the municipalities of Bais, Tanjay, Amlan, San Jose and Sibulan can work together in their MPAs: removing ghost nets, demarcating protected areas and running underwater clean-ups.
Capacity building
Published and shared biannual MPA status reports for the municipalities of Siaton, Zamboanguita and Santa Catalina.
Protected areas & habitats
Created a fully funded seven-month scholarship programme for aspiring women conservation leaders. The first two scholars started their training at MCP in late 2025, and both now hold leadership roles.
Capacity building
Expanded the beach forest in Sitio Polo, Zamboanguita, planting mainly cycads.
Protected areas & habitats
Provided signage and demarcation for all MPAs in Zamboanguita.
Protected areas & habitats
Organised many interagency and community events against ocean plastics and for more effective MPAs (examples: one, two, three).
Plastics & livelihoods
Expanded the area covered by our sea turtle nest protection programme, with economic incentives for locally led nest protection.
Protected areas & habitats
Held a large planting activity on World Mangrove Day (video).
Protected areas & habitats
With the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, trained 100 youth leaders in conservation practices they can apply at home and in their communities.
Education & outreach
Started and funded a drive for more scuba tourism in Zamboanguita, to create livelihoods for local fisherfolk associations.
Plastics & livelihoods
Hosted several youth camps: Ridge to Reef workshops and seminars for local youth leaders, #ChangeTheCurrent camps with the Ibayaw Youth Collective, immersion camps such as the one with Basay National High School, and our annual MCP Summer Sea Camps.
Education & outreach
Found and retrieved large ghost nets on the mesophotic reef at Malatapay, Zamboanguita.
Plastics & livelihoods
Funded training, kayaks and other equipment for fisherfolk in Victorias, Negros Occidental, to create an ecotourism spot in a mangrove forest, so the community earns from its natural resources and has a stake in protecting them.
Plastics & livelihoods
Partnered with Pro Ocean on collecting and recycling marine debris and ocean plastics. From January to December we collected about 87.3 tonnes of litter, around 4.3 million pieces, of which about 3.7 million were plastic. We recycled about 42% by weight and disposed of the rest properly.
Plastics & livelihoods
Received the PADI award for Outstanding Contribution to Marine Conservation.
Education & outreach

How the work has grown

Lessons for teachers

2015

Wrote three teaching modules for high schools on sharks, plastic pollution and coral reefs, with six lessons each.

2026

20 modules with 54 lessons and two games for ages 8 to 18, free for any teacher.

Reef data for everyone

2020

Opened a live web portal so stakeholders can see present and past trends on their own reefs.

2025

An open-source dashboard with real-time and historic reef data for agencies, academics and fisherfolk.

Earlier years

Each year starts with three highlights.

2024

13 achievements

Provided scuba training to the BATASS alliance of local governments (Bais, Amlan, Tanjay, San Jose and Sibulan) to strengthen collaboration and response teams across the municipalities.
Capacity building
Partnered with Pro Ocean on collecting and recycling marine debris and ocean plastics. From January to December we collected about 97 tonnes of litter, around 4.7 million pieces, of which about 4.1 million were plastic. We recycled about 42% by weight and disposed of the rest properly.
Plastics & livelihoods
With DENR, started a sea turtle nest monitoring programme to find and protect nests and give as many hatchlings as possible a chance to survive.
Protected areas & habitats
Demarcated the MPAs of Salag and Andulay.
Protected areas & habitats
Provided first aid training through the PADI Emergency First Response programme to barangay officials and schoolteachers in Siaton and Zamboanguita.
Capacity building
Gave direct financial aid to the trust funds of the environment office and to the seven registered fisherfolk associations of Zamboanguita.
Protected areas & habitats
Rebuilt and renovated the sea ranger guardhouse in Polo, Zamboanguita.
Protected areas & habitats
Organised large IEC events and beach clean-ups with local communities, civic groups, people’s organisations and student bodies on international ocean days, for example five simultaneous clean-ups on International Coastal Cleanup Day.
Plastics & livelihoods
With Eton College, deployed an acoustic monitoring device to study reef sounds as a secondary indicator of reef health (read about it on Facebook).
Research & data
Planted trees on World Mangrove Day with the PNP, the Coast Guard and the fisherfolk of Zamboanguita, and showed virtual reality IEC material on healthy coral reefs.
Protected areas & habitats
Hosted a three-day MCP Summer Ocean Camp for local youth leaders.
Education & outreach
Completed all survey dives in Zamboanguita and Siaton, and shared the findings for every MPA and relevant non-MPA site with stakeholders.
Research & data
By the 2024 summer holidays, the mangrove education project we started the year before had reached 1,866 children in grades 2 and 3 in Siaton and Zamboanguita.
Education & outreach

2023

15 achievements

As part of a technical working group, helped the Apo Island Protected Area Management Board assess the likely environmental impact of a partial pontoon jetty just north of the sanctuary. Construction was discouraged. Read the white paper.
Protected areas & habitats
Entered a permanent partnership with the Municipality of Santa Catalina to monitor its MPAs and marine resources.
Protected areas & habitats
Partnered with Pro Ocean on collecting and recycling marine debris and ocean plastics. From January to December we collected about 98.8 tonnes of litter, around 4.9 million pieces, of which about 4.1 million were plastic. We recycled about 43% by weight and disposed of the rest properly.
Plastics & livelihoods
Partnered with PAFCPIC, the Philippine Army Finance Center Producers Integrated Cooperative, to provide livelihood aid to Bantay Dagat members and small-scale fisherfolk, and to secure research equipment for MCP.
Plastics & livelihoods
Started an outreach campaign through the PADI Emergency First Response programme, so barangay officials and schoolteachers in Siaton and Zamboanguita can learn life-saving first aid.
Capacity building
Removed ghost nets in Barangay Lutoban, and set up a network where local fishers can report lost nets and traps for MCP dive teams to retrieve.
Plastics & livelihoods
Co-hosted and built the Zamboanguita booth at the Buglasan Festival 2023, using new technology and virtual reality to show coral reefs and conservation work to more than 2,000 visitors in one week.
Education & outreach
Completed all survey dives in Zamboanguita and Siaton, and shared the findings for every MPA and relevant non-MPA site with stakeholders.
Research & data
Started a mangrove education project with Pro Ocean, in which a full-time teacher gives lessons on mangrove ecosystems in primary schools in coastal municipalities.
Education & outreach
Received our first PADI award for Outstanding Contribution to Marine Conservation.
Education & outreach
Removed ghost nets caught on the artificial reefs at Poblacion, Zamboanguita.
Plastics & livelihoods
Joined the Mangrove Planting Coalition and helped plant 30,000 mangrove trees in Banilad, Dumaguete, together with 350 other volunteers.
Protected areas & habitats
Provided scuba training to the disaster risk reduction team, MENRO and fisheries officers of LGU Siaton.
Capacity building
Restarted our community days after COVID, including helping to paint the sports arena in Barangay Lutoban (video).
Education & outreach
Helped demarcate the Tambobo Bay MPA in Siaton.
Protected areas & habitats

2022

11 achievements

After two pandemic years on hold, restarted our industry-leading citizen science project in scientific diving. Fully trained survey teams have been working since April 2022.
Research & data
Partnered with Pro Ocean on collecting and recycling marine debris and ocean plastics, with a full-time MCP team now cleaning beaches in southern Negros. From January to December we collected 37 tonnes of litter, around 1.8 million pieces, of which about 1.6 million were plastic. We recycled about 43% by weight and disposed of the rest properly.
Plastics & livelihoods
With the USAID Fish Right programme, trained the dive team of the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), which monitors MPAs in Negros Oriental beyond MCP’s operating range.
Capacity building
Wrote the first post-pandemic vulnerability and performance report on the MPAs of Zamboanguita, compared against regional trends.
Protected areas & habitats
Wrote the first post-pandemic vulnerability and performance report on the MPAs of Siaton, compared against regional trends.
Protected areas & habitats
Helped demarcate Basak MPA and Malatapay MPA in Zamboanguita, and removed illegal fishing gear from the reefs.
Protected areas & habitats
Provided data, divers and logistics for BFAR and USAID to deliver a technical report on the current status of the MPAs in Zamboanguita.
Research & data
Provided ongoing ground-truthing of coral reef substrate composition for the Allen Coral Atlas.
Research & data
Started a two-week introductory conservation programme for Filipino participants who cannot join for longer.
Capacity building
Delivered Open Water and Rescue Diver training to the Zamboanguita local government dive team.
Capacity building
Organised three simultaneous beach clean-ups on World Ocean Day, 8 June (pictures), bringing together police, coast guard, fraternities, youth groups, fisherfolk associations, local government, sea rangers and concerned citizens.
Plastics & livelihoods

2021

11 achievements

COVID-19 disruption: much of our fieldwork and many planned community events between March 2020 and December 2021 had to be cancelled or postponed, mainly affecting education and reforestation.

Partnered with Pro Ocean on collecting and recycling marine debris and ocean plastics, with a full-time MCP team now cleaning beaches in southern Negros. From March to December we collected more than 23 tonnes of litter, more than 1.1 million pieces, of which more than 950,000 were plastic. We recycled about 42% by weight and disposed of the rest properly.
Plastics & livelihoods
Planted 11,000 mangrove trees in Tanjay (read more).
Protected areas & habitats
Ran a fundraiser and distributed 12,000 meals after Typhoon Rai devastated large parts of the Central Visayas (video).
Plastics & livelihoods
Launched plantamangrove.org, a website where private and corporate sponsors can have mangrove trees planted on demand. GPS and photo ID tagging of each tree gives sponsors full transparency on the planting.
Protected areas & habitats
Put up protective fences and planted 1,000 mangrove trees to reforest an area in Mayabon, where livestock had ruined earlier reforestation attempts ten years before.
Protected areas & habitats
Examined how far seagrass and coral reefs are interconnected in Zamboanguita, to judge MPA effectiveness (read the full paper).
Research & data
Provided ground-truthing of coral reef substrate composition for the Allen Coral Atlas during its rollout in the Philippines.
Research & data
Helped the tourism department of LGU Siaton create a report from MCP monitoring data, highlighting the municipality’s diverse coral reefs and dive sites.
Research & data
Started a scholarship programme for gifted young people studying marine science, and welcomed the first two scholars in February 2021.
Capacity building
Delivered rescue and MPA infrastructure maintenance training to the Zamboanguita local government dive team.
Capacity building
Demarcated Basak MPA and Lutoban MPA again after their marker buoys were lost.
Protected areas & habitats

2020

8 achievements

Turned our scientific skills and manpower to fighting COVID-19 in the community: social media information campaigns, computer simulations of viral spread, and four rounds of donations and fundraisers to buy food for Zamboanguita (7,200 kg donated in total).
Plastics & livelihoods
Opened a live web portal to the MCP data repository, so stakeholders can follow present and past trends in their marine resources and make their own reports and charts.
Research & data
Shared a comprehensive report with management recommendations on fish biomass and coral cover in all Zamboanguita MPAs from June 2018 to August 2019.
Protected areas & habitats
Started building a web portal connecting blue carbon investment with community groups who plant mangrove trees.
Protected areas & habitats
Wrote a management action plan and status report for the MPAs of Siaton, with the latest data from December 2019 to February 2020.
Protected areas & habitats
Gave financial support to the local chapter of the Bantay Dagat.
Protected areas & habitats
Held a major mangrove planting event in Siit Bay using large saplings (Sonneratia alba and Avicennia marina), with the community group PAPSIMCO.
Protected areas & habitats
In line with our stance on food and the environment, launched the campaign website veggioke.com to promote vegetarian and flexitarian eating in the Philippines.
Education & outreach

2019

12 achievements

After DENR adopted MCP’s survey methodology, and with support from PADI, our instructors taught scuba diving to a dozen employees from the municipalities of San Jose, Bais and Zamboanguita.
Capacity building
Presented our work at the Asia Pacific Coral Reef Symposium, at PAMS and twice at the UN.
Research & data
Over a series of dives, MCP technical divers removed an estimated 350 kg of discarded ghost nets from mesophotic reefs in Bacong.
Plastics & livelihoods
Ran a three-day expedition to Bais to help catalogue and assess the Capiñahan MPA.
Protected areas & habitats
Organised a three-day MCP SeaCamp for local youth on critical local environmental issues.
Education & outreach
Held four major mangrove planting events in Siit Bay using large saplings (Sonneratia alba and Avicennia marina), with the community group PAPSIMCO.
Protected areas & habitats
Helped restore and restock the PAPSIMCO mangrove nursery after these planting events.
Protected areas & habitats
Explored Basay’s young MPA and photographed its marine resources.
Research & data
Provided advice and funding for a 550-metre mangrove boardwalk, creating ecotourism livelihoods for the PAPSIMCO community group in Siit, Siaton.
Plastics & livelihoods
Carried out eight Green Fins assessments of dive resorts in Dauin and Zamboanguita in the first and third quarters, helping them reduce their environmental impact.
Capacity building
Assessed the first 18 months of the Andulay Marine Reserve and shared the results with the Andulay Fisherfolk Association, strengthening their understanding and management of the reserve.
Research & data
Carried out a series of deep mesophotic surveys in Bacong (video) ahead of the deployment of a large artificial reef.
Research & data

2018

17 achievements

Partnered with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Environment and Natural Resources Division to redesign 24 MPA management plans with the local governments of Siaton, Dauin, Zamboanguita and Dumaguete.
Protected areas & habitats
Identified a corallivore outbreak in Andulay MPA and coordinated a joint response with the local government and the community.
Protected areas & habitats
Launched an extensive livelihood project in Siaton with the community group PAPSIMCO, covering beekeeping, mangrove conservation, soap production and tourism.
Plastics & livelihoods
Developed data validation protocols and tools so our volunteer-collected data is accurate and precise enough for management plans and scientific papers.
Research & data
Completed and shared coastal resource management reports for the LGUs of Dauin, Zamboanguita and Siaton, focusing on MPA effectiveness and coral reef resilience.
Protected areas & habitats
Signed agreements for mangrove conservation in Siaton and Bais.
Protected areas & habitats
Reviewed our organisational vision to better communicate our goal and the conservation work we do.
Education & outreach
Reviewed common mesophotic monitoring strategies and their pros and cons, aiming to write best-practice guidelines and find or develop a method NGOs and academic institutions can use.
Research & data
Designed and launched a new mobile-friendly website to recruit volunteers and share information.
Education & outreach
Joined the provincial team running the UN Green Fins initiative, with The Reef-World Foundation and DENR, to reduce the environmental impact of the diving industry.
Capacity building
Partnered with Silliman University and LGU Bacong to strengthen the protection and management of the marine environment.
Protected areas & habitats
Began working with the regional government on a review of current monitoring practices against best practice.
Research & data
Recognising the role of meat production in habitat and biodiversity loss, we lead by example, eating less meat and growing organic vegetables in our own gardens.
Education & outreach
Researched and wrote a document informing LGUs about the risks of artificial reefs, with guidelines for best practice.
Research & data
Developed a strategy for using deployed temperature and salinity sensors and building them into our monitoring programme.
Research & data
Assessed how well DENR’s fish aggregation devices build local fish biomass, to support its coastal and marine ecosystem management programme.
Research & data
Assessed the threat that local fishing practices pose to sea turtles in Tambobo Bay.
Research & data

2017

13 achievements

Formed a partnership with DENR to support its coastal and marine ecosystems management programme (CMEMP), training DENR staff in statistics, scuba diving and marine monitoring.
Capacity building
Ran a postcard design competition in 55 local schools to highlight biodiversity issues, reaching an estimated 20,000 students.
Education & outreach
Funded and built a two-storey guardhouse for the Bantay Dagat sea rangers at Lutoban MPA.
Protected areas & habitats
Helped the Municipality of Bacong survey its marine assets, and published guidelines for establishing MPAs in the Philippines.
Protected areas & habitats
Provided logistical support to the Synoptic Investigations on Human Impact on Nearshore Environments (SHINE): Coral Reefs project, funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
Research & data
Taught modules on plastic pollution, coral reefs and biodiversity at 11 elementary and secondary schools in southern Negros, reaching 2,342 local children.
Education & outreach
Built a mangrove nursery at MCP and led further mangrove reforestation along the shores of Siit Bay. The nursery moved to the intertidal mangrove zone in early 2018.
Protected areas & habitats
Following a pilot study funded by the Rufford Foundation, started an alternative livelihood programme producing mangrove honey. We secured funds to extend it along the whole south-east Negros coast with 20 beekeeping groups, expected to create 100 alternative livelihoods in 2017 and 2018.
Plastics & livelihoods
Started a programme, funded by contributions from our international volunteers, that tops up the income of the Zamboanguita Bantay Dagat so its members can make a decent living.
Protected areas & habitats
MCP divemasters took community groups from Barangay Lutoban, Barangay Andulay and Foundation University on Discover Scuba Diving experiences on local coral reefs.
Education & outreach
Published many scientific white papers and reports, all listed under publications.
Research & data
Assessed windowpane oyster (Placuna placenta) populations in Siit Bay. Read the blog article or download the findings.
Research & data
Helped deploy several artificial reefs, and wrote guidelines on what to consider when creating artificial reefs.
Protected areas & habitats

2016

14 achievements

Created the coastal zoning plan to expand Lutoban Marine Protected Area. The expansion passed its public hearing, and the new tri-habitat sanctuary covers 80 ha, more than five times the 15 ha average for MPAs in the Philippines.
Protected areas & habitats
Completed the fish population baseline survey started in 2015, with goatfish and wrasses surveyed in 2016. Read about the finished study or download the report.
Research & data
Helped curb a crown-of-thorns outbreak threatening the south-west coast of Siquijor (read how MCP volunteers helped).
Protected areas & habitats
Taught marine biology to 22 international high school students on a field trip to the Philippines (read more).
Education & outreach
Took part in mangrove reforestation along the shores of Siit Bay.
Protected areas & habitats
Ran a plastic pollution workshop at Little Children of the Philippines, a nearby orphanage. Volunteers and children collected 120 kg of plastic along the shores of Dauin in a single day.
Plastics & livelihoods
Organised 51 coastal clean-ups, roughly one a week, collecting tonnes of litter from reefs and beaches.
Plastics & livelihoods
Arranged permanent financial support for the Zamboanguita chapter of the Bantay Dagat.
Protected areas & habitats
Secured a grant for MCP to build a guardhouse at Lutoban MPA.
Protected areas & habitats
Secured a grant for equipment such as a compressor and a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), to extend our conservation work along the eastern shore of Negros.
Research & data
Took on a range of community outreach work, from sponsoring local sports events and teams to roadwork and maintenance.
Education & outreach
Mapped extensive seagrass meadows and completed substrate mapping of ten selected sites, providing ground-truthing data for automated coastal mapping by broad-spectrum remote sensing.
Research & data
Continued our work with the environmental organisation Zoox and helped train Green Fins assessors twice, in February and June, during the Zoox Educational Programme (ZEP).
Capacity building
Organised two oceanography days at Foundation University in Dumaguete.
Education & outreach

2015

14 achievements

Started a baseline survey along about 50 km of coast from Dauin to Siaton, covering invertebrates, substrate and fish. Fish families surveyed: Pomacanthidae (angelfish), Chaetodontidae (butterflyfish), Serranidae (groupers), Scaridae (parrotfish), Siganidae (rabbitfish), Haemulidae (sweetlips), Lutjanidae (snappers), Acanthuridae (surgeonfish), Ostraciidae (boxfish), Tetraodontidae (pufferfish), Balistidae (triggerfish), Nemipteridae (threadfin breams), Monacanthidae (filefish), Caesionidae (fusiliers) and Lethrinidae (emperors).
Research & data
Under the auspices of JICA and with SUAKCREM, ran an expedition to assess the biology of the submerged parts of Hinagdanan Cave, Panglao, Bohol (short summary and video, or the complete paper).
Research & data
Wrote three complete teaching modules for high schools (sharks, plastic pollution and coral reefs), with six lessons each.
Education & outreach
Taught marine biology to 35 international high school students on a field trip to the Philippines (read more).
Education & outreach
Worked with the Zamboanguita Science High Club on environmental education (read more).
Education & outreach
Created educational material for high school students.
Education & outreach
Advised Thalatta Resort on building an artificial reef and assessed the biological feasibility of a local MPA.
Protected areas & habitats
Ran a successful online campaign to get the Mandaue restaurant Oyster Bay Seafood to release the reef sharks it kept in captivity.
Education & outreach
Hosted the environmental organisation Zoox and helped train Green Fins assessors.
Capacity building
Helped place the first buoys at Dalakit MPA in Zamboanguita and repair broken demarcation buoys (read more).
Protected areas & habitats
Reinstalled the demarcation buoys at Basak MPA, Zamboanguita.
Protected areas & habitats
Removed discarded fishing nets (ghost nets) from local MPAs on several occasions, freeing trapped fish and invertebrates.
Plastics & livelihoods
Held many beach clean-ups, collecting (and where possible recycling) plastic, clothing, glass, metal and other man-made debris.
Plastics & livelihoods
Helped install reef balls in Poblacion, Dauin, in a municipality-wide drive to create artificial reefs (see the video).
Protected areas & habitats