Benham Bank | |
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  Benham Bank  Benham Bank | |
| Coordinates: 15°48′26.8″N124°16′58.2″E / 15.807444°N 124.282833°E Coordinates: 15°48′26.8″N124°16′58.2″E / 15.807444°N 124.282833°E | |
| Part of | Benham Rise |
| Area | |
| • Total | 170 km2 (66 sq mi) |
| Dimensions | |
| • Depth | 48 to 70 m (157 to 230 ft) |
Benham Bank is an ocean bank in the Philippine Sea. It is the shallowest point of Benham Rise, which is wholly part of the territory of the Philippines.
With an area of around 170 square kilometers (66 sq mi), the Benham Bank only forms 1 percent of the Benham Rise. [1] It is the shallowest point of the larger underwater plateau at 48 to 70 meters (157 to 230 ft) below sea level. [2]
Benham Bank hosts at least 200 species of fish, [3] including commercially important fish such as the blue fin tuna. [4] At the mesophotic zone or around 150 meters (490 ft) of the ocean bank, sponges and algae [3] such as Halimeda green macroalgae have been observed. Expeditions in 2014 and 2016 revealed a mesophotic coral reef with 100% live coral cover. [1]
Marine scientists from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the University of the Philippines (UP) conducted research in the Benham Bank in 2016. They boarded the government ship MV DA-BFAR for their research. Their remotely operated vehicle as well as technical diver-videographers were provided by Oceana Philippines. BFAR and UP also conducted research in 2014. [3]
Local environmental groups have urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to declare the Benham Bank as a "no-take" zone to legally protect the feature's biodiversity by limiting "human activity". [1]
The Philippines is an archipelago that comprises 7,641 islands with a total land area of 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi). It is the world's fifth largest island country. The eleven largest islands contain 95% of the total land area. The largest of these islands is Luzon at about 105,000 square kilometers (40,541 sq mi). The next largest island is Mindanao at about 95,000 square kilometers (36,680 sq mi). The archipelago is around 800 kilometers (500 mi) from the Asian mainland and is located between Taiwan and Borneo.
Manila Bay is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila, in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and its neighboring countries, becoming the gateway for socio-economic development even prior to Spanish occupation. With an area of 1,994 km2 (769.9 sq mi), and a coastline of 190 km (118.1 mi), Manila Bay is situated in the western part of Luzon and is bounded by Cavite and Metro Manila on the east, Bulacan and Pampanga on the north, and Bataan on the west and northwest. Manila Bay drains approximately 17,000 km2 (6,563.7 sq mi) of watershed area, with the Pampanga River contributing about 49% of the freshwater influx. With an average depth of 17 m (55.8 ft), it is estimated to have a total volume of 28.9 billion cubic meters. Entrance to the bay is 19 km (11.8 mi) wide and expands to a width of 48 km (29.8 mi). However, width of the bay varies from 22 km (13.7 mi) at its mouth and expanding to 60 km (37.3 mi) at its widest point.
The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean east of the Philippine archipelago, the largest in the world, occupying an estimated surface area of 5 million square kilometers. The Philippine Sea Plate forms the floor of the sea. Its western border is the first island chain to the west, comprising the Ryukyu Islands in the northwest and Taiwan in the west. Its southwestern border comprises the Philippine islands of Luzon, Catanduanes, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao. Its northern border comprises the Japanese islands of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyūshū. Its eastern border is the second island chain to the west, comprising the Bonin Islands and Iwo Jima in the northeast, the Mariana Islands in the due east, and Halmahera, Palau, Yap and Ulithi in the southeast. Its southern border is Indonesia's Morotai Island.
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The Saya de Malha Bank is one of the largest submerged ocean banks in the world, a part of the vast undersea Mascarene Plateau.
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Blast fishing, fish bombing, or dynamite fishing is a destructive fishing practice using explosives to stun or kill schools of fish for easy collection. This often illegal practice is extremely destructive to the surrounding ecosystem, as the explosion often destroys the underlying habitat that supports the fish. The frequently improvised nature of the explosives used, and undetonated charges, means danger for fishermen and divers as well, with accidents and injuries.
Pulley Ridge is a mesophotic coral reef system off the shores of the continental United States. The reef rests on sunken barrier islands and lies 100 miles west of the Tortugas Ecological Reserve and stretches north about 60 miles at depths ranging from 60 to 80 meters. Pulley Ridge was originally discovered in 1950 during a dredging operation conducted by an academic group from Texas. While well known to fishermen, this remarkable habitat remained undiscovered by scientists until 1999 when the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and graduate students from the University of South Florida happened upon it. This reef system, like other mesophotic ecosystems, is inhabited by photosynthesizing corals and algae that are adapted to low-light environments. It is habitat for numerous species of bottom fish including Epinephelus morio spawning area.
Today,environmental problems in the Philippines include pollution, illegal mining and logging, deforestation, threats to environmental activists, dynamite fishing, landslides, coastal erosion, biodiversity loss, extinction, global warming and climate change. Due to the paucity of extant documents, a complete history of land use in the archipelago remains unwritten. However, relevant data shows destructive land use increased significantly in the eighteenth century when Spanish colonialism enhanced its extraction of the archipelago's resources for the early modern global market. The Philippines is projected to be one of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change. Meanwhile, the country is projected to be one of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change, which would exacerbate these weather extremes. As The Philippines lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, it is prone to natural disasters, like earthquakes, typhoons, and volcanic eruptions. In 2021, the Philippines ranked the fourth most affected country from "weather-related loss events", partly due to the close proximity of major infrastructure and residential areas to the coast and unreliable government support. One of the most devastating typhoons to hit the archipelago was Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, in 2013 that killed 6,300 people and left 28,689 injured. Philippine politicians have demonstrated awareness of environmental crises with the passing of policies like The Clean Air Act of 1999, the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004, the Climate Change Act of 2009, and participation in the Paris Agreement. However, research has found that outside of cities, the general public doesn't feel equally informed. Environmental activists and land defenders, consisting mostly of Indigenous communities who have been attempting to bring attention to the environmental issues in the country have been met with violence or murder. As a result, the Philippines has been ranked one of the most dangerous places in the world for environmental activists.
The Philippines' Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, is an agency of the Philippine government under the Department of Agriculture responsible for the development, improvement, law enforcement, management and conservation of the Philippines' fisheries and aquatic resources.
Oceana, inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit ocean conservation organization focused on influencing specific policy decisions on the national level to preserve and restore the world's oceans. It is headquartered in Washington D.C. with offices in Juneau, Alaska, Monterey, California, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, New York City, New York, Portland, Oregon, Toronto, Ontario, Mexico City, Madrid, Brussels, Copenhagen, Geneva, London, Manila, Belmopan, Brasilia, Santiago, and Lima, and it is the largest international advocacy group dedicated entirely to ocean conservation.
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