Reef name: THE BOLINAO REEF COMPLEX Location: Fringing reefs on western Luzon Island in the Philippines Description: The 200-square-kilometer complex includes reefs from the municipalities of Anda and Bolinao. Of approximately 50,000 people in Bolinao, only a few thousand actually fish the reefs, but the reefs support about 20,000 people who are either workers in fishery-related occupations (fish sales, shell craft, etc) or are dependent family members. Threats: As farmlands across the Philippines have become finely divided and overutilized, increasing numbers of people have migrated into reef areas such as Bolinao to join in harvesting fish and other reef resources, contributing to their dramatic decline. Competition for these resources led to the proliferation of blast and cyanide fishing. In the late 1980s one could hear an average of 10 blasts per hour from fishers targeting schools offish and clumps of coral. The bottom cover of reef-building coral diminished from roughly 40 percent to about 15 percent over a period of about 1 5 years. Target fish were 10 centimeters in length and less. While fishers of more pristine reefs in Papua New Guinea are able to harvest up to 30 kilograms offish per day, the Bolinao fishers have had their catches reduced to an average of about one kilogram per day on reefs that were once ecologically very similar. Beginning in 1986, programs were established by the University of the Philippines and collaborators to help the Bolinao municipality. Various projects to introduce small-scale agriculture of seaweed and invertebrates were supplemented by community organizing activities. Public education and improved law enforcement have led to a reduction in blast fishing. Coral cover and fish abundances seem to be increasing. In 1997, the municipality approved an integrated coastal management plan that reflected the concerns of all major sectors. Marine protected areas are being established and fishery regulations are being revised. However, the reef remains in a critical state. The proliferation offish pens is causing problems with pollution, water stagnation, and public access to reef resources. Incomes in the area remain low, and many resources on land and sea are seriously overutilized by the dense human population. Ultimately, the greatest challenges may be yet to come — the population of Bolinao is expected to double in the next 30 years. Reef name: SCARBOROUGH REEF Location: A large atoll in the eastern South China Sea Description: Scarborough Reef is noted for high levels of biodiversity. The populations of organisms on the reefs of the South China Sea are believed to be linked through the exchange of the free-swimming life stages that characterize most reef species. Being highly isolated, Scarborough Reef may play a particularly crucial role as an "outpost" in this exchange of genetic material and in the restocking of overfished fringing reefs in the Philippines and China. Threats: Like the Spratly Islands to the southwest, Scarborough Reef is the subject of ownership disputes. The reef is claimed by the Philippines, mainland China, and Taiwan. Fishers from all three areas regularly visit the reef However, the unclear ownership and lack of regulation exacerbate competition for the resources. Fishers stock up on blasting devices and cyanide to fish the reef in short, destructive trips. The reef is a major site for shark fishing with gill nets and for the capture of large fish for the live fish trade using cyanide. Ships load their holds with coral to sell as decorations for store windows and aquariums. The U.S. military used the reef for bombing practice during the 1990 confrontation with Iraq, complicating matters. Large and unique underwater dunelike structures of organ-pipe coral tens of meters long were used as targets. Substantial areas of coral were torn apart by the explosions. Many of the bombs failed to explode, littering the lagoon with live ordinance. It is reportedly common for a fisher to drop a small explosive charge in a beer bottle, only to set off a massive explosion. Visitors to the reef over the years have reported increasing levels of degradation from the combination of abuses to the reef REEFS AT RISK 35