A pod of rough toothed dolphins were sighted in the coastal area of Glan in Sarangani province feeding on squid, which is aplenty in Sarangani Bay. The 10 mammals are just a few of ‘visitors’ in the bay, an indication of its ‘still healthy state’ largely because it has been proclaimed a protected area.
A pod of rough toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis)—considered the smallest of their breed—were sighted feeding on squid in Sarangani Bay by monitoring teams, the first since 2019.
The bay straddles six Sarangani towns and General Santos City, which was proclaimed a protected seascape 25 years ago through a presidential proclamation issued by then President Fidel Ramos, to conserve its marine resources for the benefit of future generations. It is home to several species of fish, sea turtles, corals, seagrasses and mangroves. Whales and dolphins have been feeding in the protected seascape but the sighting is said to be the first in two years, according to an Inquirer report.
The bay straddles the towns of Glan, Malapatan, Alabel, Maasim, Kiamba and Maitum in Sarangani province, and the chartered city of General Santos.
The 10 mammals wee spotted feeding on squid, which is aplenty in the bay, by the Protected Area Management Office of Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape headed by Joy Ologuin during a recent marine mammal monitoring. Ologuin said the dolphins were feeding on squid in the coastal waters of Glan.
The monitoring team included personnel from the Pamo-SBPS, Sarangani Environmental Conservation and Protection Center, the local government of General Santos City, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos) region.
Least concern status
The rough-toothed dolphins, classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature with a “least concern” status, thrive on squid, fish, and mollusk. The specie is found throughout the world in tropical and warmer temperate waters, according to the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).
These small members of the dolphin family usually travel in small, tight-knit groups of two to 20 individuals. Their common name was based on the ridges found on their teeth, which are unique to this species.
According to the Noaa, rough-toothed dolphins are relatively small compared to other dolphins. They can reach up to 2.59 meters (8.5 feet) in length and weigh about 160 kilograms.
Ologuin said the monitoring team in the past few years recorded hundreds of whales and other species of dolphins, like spinner and Risso’s dolphins, thriving across Sarangani Bay.
Healthy ecosystem
“The sightings of the marine mammals indicate that the ecosystem of the bay is still healthy. These fishes keep on coming back. It’s also probable that some of them are already residents of the bay,” she told the Inquirer earlier.
Ologuin stressed, however, that the garbage problem, including single-use plastics, is a growing threat to marine life across the bay.
“The floating plastic garbage poses a threat to fishes present in Sarangani Bay, as they could mistake these … [for] food,” she said, urging the public to responsibly dispose of their trash so they would not end up in the ocean.
Records from the Pamo-SBPS show that the bay hosts a rich biodiversity of fish, sea turtles, corals, seagrasses and mangroves. It is home to threatened species, such as dugong, mameng (Napoleon wrasse) and four kinds of marine turtles (hawksbill, olive ridley, loggerhead and green sea turtle). Across the bay are at least 411 reef species.
Tags: #Roughtootheddolphins, #SaranganiBay, #leastconcernspecie, #protectedarea, #environment