Is Lapu-lapu(Grouper) the New Endangered Fish?
Fish experts warn us : something ought to be done before the supply of lapu-lapu faces imminent collapse. Unless something is done soon, the succulent lapu-lapu will soon no longer be part of the menu in your favorite Chinese restaurant. The reason : the supply is facing imminent collapse! Forty years of unregulated cyanide and dynamite fishing, in addition to the rising trend to target vulnerable spawning areas of lapu-lapu, have all contributed to the rapid disappearance of the highly valued fish. Most of the spawning areas of lapu-lapu can be found in Palawan, the country’s last frontier. Palawan and its territorial waters host some of the most productive yet exploited fisheries on earth, according to World Wide Fund for Nature(WWF), a global conservation group. “Unless we preserve remaining wild stocks today, Palwan’s fisheries will not be able to replenish and will collapse by 2020,” deplored Dr. Geoffrey Muldoon , live reef fish strategy leader for WWF’s Coral Triangle Program. T
