Escoda Shoal in the West Philippine Sea has been declared an “ecological disaster” by a marine biologist from the University of the Philippines.
The assessment, conducted with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), found that almost all of the shallow water at Escoda Shoal is devoid of any living corals.
“There’s no space that shows signs of life. That’s an ecological disaster for Escoda,” said Jonathan Anticamara, a professor at the UP Institute of Biology.
The findings revealed extensive coral bleaching, with almost all the corals in various stages of death. The most widespread condition observed was the presence of brown algae covering the dead corals, a stage at which recovery is typically impossible.
Dr. Fernando Siringan, a professor at the UP Marine Science Institute, said these dead corals could be used to build islands, a practice done by China in previous years to establish footholds in the Philippine-claimed waters.
“Very likely there will be piling up of corals from this… So there will be a lot of materials for building islands basically with this death of corals—so we have to be careful and have to be very, very vigilant in this,” Siringan said.
Meanwhile, the team also documented coral rubble in the area but have yet to determine the cause.
