Beyond The Journey
Benham Rise, an undersea
territory, is located east of Luzon where its
shallowest part, Benham Bank, is at least 50 meters deep. Its name originated from the surveyor Andrew Benham who first mapped the
region in 1933 [2].
April 12, 2012 marks the United
Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (UNCLCS) validating
the additional 13-million hectare extended continental shelf (ECS) of
Benham Rise as part of the Philippines
What
is clear here is that Benham Rise is not considered a part of the Philippine
national territory but the country is bestowed "sovereign rights"
(less than "sovereignty") over the region, allowing it exclusive and
superior authority to explore, develop and utilize its living and non-living
resources [4].
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| Map of Benham Rise showing the acquired extended continental shelf (ECS). |
It could have been a viewed as swift success. The claim, however, was pursued
tenaciously, thanks to over a decade worth of
work by a team of public servants, scientists and legal experts. What was once
a workshop in 2001 forged the first major successful claim under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) [1].
Recent Glimpse
Last May 2016, Oceana, Earth's NGO solely for marine conservation, joined government scientists from the
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), University of the Philippines
They were thrilled to
discover 100% coral cover in the surveyed area, which, if highly unlikely, is rare in the Philippines
The Twilight's Promise
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A colony of foliose corals at a minimum depth of 50 meters in Benham Bank. (Oceana / UPLB)
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As shallow water reefs
continue to degrade, scientists turn their hopes to the mesophotic zone. It’s
also called the “twilight zone” as it signifies the transition between brightly
lit surface waters and dark, deeper depths. The mesophotic zone (30-150 m) is
often deemed as extensions of shallow-water reef ecosystems, dominated by light-dependent
corals, sponges and algae [6].
Though widespread and
diverse, mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) remain largely unexplored. The good
news, though, is that new technologies allow deeper exploration of our oceans.
One hypothesis that incited the interest of studying the mesophotic zone is the ‘deep reef refugia’
hypothesis which underscores its potential for replenishing or “re-seeding” damaged reef ecosystems [6]. In one study, MCEs, seagrass beds
and mangroves are found to likely to provide brood stocks - replenishing and sustaining damaged,
heavily exploited nearshore reefs. Such was the case in the spawning aggregations
of the red hind grouper (Epinephelus guttatus)
which re-seeded shallow waters when it produced larvae in deep waters off US
Virgin Islands [10].
Studies in the
Indo-Pacific MCEs have also shown the region to hold diverse benthic
communities. They also serve as refuge to shallow-water coral reef species experiencing environmental stress like light-enhanced warm water bleaching [9].
Using an autonomous
underwater vehicle (AUV), scientists surveyed, at depths of 50 to 65 m, anemonefishes at Viper Reef
and Hydrographers Passage in the Great Barrier Reef. The findings show that at least some species of host sea anemones and anemonefishes occur across a wider bathymetric range, stretching from reef flats and slopes into the mesophotic zone. This supports the hypothesis that mesophotic reefs contain many species only thought to be common to shallow-water reef habitats [8].
Over the years, the idea of the zone’s emerging importance has taken momentum. Take Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in Hawaii
It is possible to unearth high endemism rates as well in other protected, uncharted mesophotic regions such as that of Benham Rise, suggesting the importance of spreading awareness of its existence.
MCE research is slowly
gathering speed and with its rise, comes the critical need to better understand biodiversity patterns across depths, the connectivity of oceanic regions, and
consequently create an informed, holistic future reef policies and management practices [8, 10].
Bold is Now
Recently, the Philippine Department of National Defense disclosed that Chinese vessels' were spotted in the area, whose unusual movement pattern suggests survey activities rather than merely passing through the region [5].
Aside from this pressing concern, the region is also
vulnerable to climate change, urging the Philippine government to assert its
rights over the region through biodiversity research, creating a management
framework, and consequently declaring Benham Rise as a ‘no-take’ zone [2].
We don’t know yet but
it might be the last pristine waters we’ll ever lay eyes on.
Oceana has an online petition urging everyone to declare their support for the protection of Benham Rise. If you are for it, then make your voices heard and put your thoughts into action!
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A lone Philippine flag sits in front of a Sarcophyton soft coral at a deepwater reef in Benham Bank. (Oceana / UPLB)
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Written by:
_____________________
[1] Batongbacal, J. L.
& Carandang, E. P. (2012). Benham Rise: How the Shelf Was Won.
National Mapping and Information Authority (NAMRIA).
[2] OCEANA (2016). Now is the Time to Protect Benham
Rise [Press Release].
Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2o8NDX9
[3] Perez, A. (2016). Exploring Philippines' Benham Rise
Region for Fisheries Development and Management [PowerPoint slides].
[4] Francisco, K.
(2017, March 18). Rappler IQ: Fast facts: What you should know about Benham Rise. Rappler. Retrieved
from http://bit.ly/2o8Dzxf
[5] Batongbacal, J.
(2017, March 14). Opinion: Understanding the issue about Chinese survey vessels
in Benham Rise. GMA News
Online. Retrieved
from http://bit.ly/2nfaoU8
[6] Baker, E. K.,
Puglise, K. A., & Harris, P. T. (Eds.). (2016). Mesophotic coral ecosystems – A lifeboat for coral reefs? The
United Nations Environment Programme and GRID-Arendal, Nairobi
[7] Kane, C., Kosaki,
R. K., & Wagner, D. (2014). High
levels of mesophotic reef fish endemism in the Northwestern
Hawaiian Islands . Bulletin of Marine Science, 90(2).
http://dx.doi.org/10.5343/bms.2013.1053
[8] Bridge, T., Scott,
A., & Steinberg, D. (2011). Abundance
and diversity of anemonefishes and their host sea anemones at two mesophotic
sites on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia
[9] Bridge, T. C. L.,
Fabricius, K. E., Bongaerts, P., Wallace, C. C., Muir, P. R., Done, T. J., & Webster, J. M. (2012). Diversity of
Scleractinia and Octocorallia in the mesophotic zone of the Great Barrier Reef , Australia
[10] Bridge, T. C. L.,
Hughes, T. P., Guinotte, J. M., & Bongaerts, P. (2013). Call
to protect all coral reefs. Nature Climate Change Volume, 3(6), 528-530. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2nflb0v
