3/26/08

I almost felt at home when our van pulled up beside the Bolinao Marine Laboratory. I was a biology major back in college at UPLB and my chosen track was zoology. Seeing the set-ups and the labs sent me waxing nostalgic over the amateur hours we poured in as students. Unfortunately there was no one to guide us since the scientists were all in Manila so we weren’t able to fully understand and appreciate the current projects.

The captive raising and breeding of giant clams is one of the flagship projects of the Bolinao Marine Laboratory under the UP Marine Science Institute (MSI). Each giant clam is valued at over P100,000 which is why their sanctuary in the ocean is guarded.

Leia, Ma-ann and Rex look on.

Here are aquariums dedicated for some coral growth experiments. (I think.)

The institute was also responsible for establishing a program that rejuvenated the sea urchin population in the area. Locally, this specie is called “maratangtang” which is an Ilocano word. The locals heat it by burning the spikes off, crack it, slurp its essence and proceed by eating its eggs.

I don’t know what this is. But they just looked like sea weeds dancing to the bubbles.

The other projects I saw dealt with cultivation and culturing of sea cucumbers (which fetches top dollar) and the use of miniature cement structures for corals to grown on for reef restoration and rehabilitation.

We have to thank scientists who devote their lives into the field of marine biology to ensure that our oceans survive well into the future.

From the Bolinao town proper, take a tricycle to “U.P.”