Boy Abunda auctions off his glasses in Ebay Philippines for Charity

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at December 7th, 2011

So I was browsing Ebay Philippines today and saw this.

Wow, PHP 2,000 pesos starting bid. All items will be donated to the environmental efforts of WWF Philippines.

Saving Secret Bay

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at March 8th, 2011

Baby cuttlefish (1 inch in total length) shot in Secret Bay, Anilao November 15 2010 3.34pm

Lembeh Strait in Indonesia is famed for being the best — if not one of the best sites for muck diving globally. No corals, no reef fish, no plants. Instead divers are rewarded with the most bizarre creatures in muck sites: mimic octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, garden eels, flounders … it’s the weirdest of the weird.

Although shot in 3 locations, most of this footage was taken in Secret Bay.

Foreigners who dive Secret Bay in Anilao say that it rivals Lembeh for the best muck diving experience.

I dove Secret Bay countless times. It probably ranks as the number one site I’ve frequented in my two years of diving so I got to see some of the best it has to offer. In addition to this, Secret Bay is home to several hot spring nodes that can burn your hand underwater. Above ground, the springs are used to boil eggs for surface interval time between dives.

I recall sometime in the middle of last year one trip we made to the area. After going down to about 40 ft I noticed that the water was silted up and not just in one area but across a whole stretch. We went deeper to 70ft and still didn’t see anything — it was as if the entire area was fished out. Bad dive. We didn’t see anything save for dozens of flying gurnards which were common to the area and patches of anemone with their respective clownfish residents.

After 50 minutes of bottom time and our 3 minute safety stop we made our way up. Getting on the boat, we noticed a small argument ensuing by the shore. There were men with very wide rakes tied to ropes. We found out from our boatman on that the man was another diver reprimanding the locals for raking up the ocean floor for fish entangling everything as by-catch. It was horrid. And tense. No wonder the bottom was all silted up.

A flounder’s “one half” hiding in the sand. Taken in Secret Bay November 15 2010 3:26PM.

Maybe I’m coming from a jaded perspective as a diver who comes once in a while to enjoy the dive weekend. Maybe I can’t relate to the fishermen who need to survive their day to day. But I also cannot ignore the fact that Anilao, which more emphatic divers call AniLOVE is struggling to stay beautiful. The newly constructed Korean resort fronting Secret Bay SHOULD protect the area (and the adjacent site called Toro Point) and turn it into a marine sanctuary. Sayang.

The truth is, Anilao charges a daily PHP 100.00 dive pass for recreational divers. The pass serves as a tax for the conservation efforts.

Where does this money go to?

Diving Secret Bay (starts at 1:39) in January 2010. This was the only sighting I’ve had of a rare baby flamboyant cuttlefish.

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Last year, I was thrilled to have been chosen by Coca-Cola to become part of their Live Positively campaign for their Energy Management & Climate Protection program. After getting my open water SCUBA certification in 2009 I went all the way to disclose the beauty that lies beneath the Philippines. I have since then become a volunteer for the WWF for their coral triangle projects and now for Coca Cola. The Live Positively campaign is really more of a permanent movement that is engraved into the company’s mission more than anything.

If you would like to learn more about Coca-Cola’s Live Positively Campaign, check out their Facebook page +) .

Beyond Earth Hour: Coffee Conversations

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at March 7th, 2011

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(My friend Joanne made the flyer above and I’m kinda red from her description of me. Anyway .. )

Hello! As some of you may know I volunteer some of my time with WWF Philippines. Although mostly involved with projects relating to coral triangle efforts (I donate my dive videos to the organization), I’ve been asked to help organize a series of coffee conversations between the online community and the Worldwide Fund for Nature. The first of the series has to do with Earth Hour and how we can go beyond the hour.

I sent an email to a few online friends (guys, no need to re-confirm) but decided to post the invite here, in case others are interested to attend:

Although a huge success every year (the Philippines has the highest participation worldwide) it isn’t enough to switch our power off for one hour. Making a difference requires building habits. This year and so forth, we’re going to be doing things beyond the hour. But we need your help as well to create and spread these ideas.

For those who’ve always wanted a chance to dialogue with WWF Philippines (they are proudly the most active branch of WWF in the world because of their sustainable development projects and coral triangle efforts), this is your chance. This isn’t a one shot deal — we want to involve you for the long run

We have very limited slots due to venue size.

Remembering 2010: Marking 102 Dives with video

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at December 28th, 2010

Probably the best investment I made this year was for a decent underwater video camera. I accumulated over 42GB worth of raw underwater footage and I must say that documenting my dives is easily the most rewarding experience this year, perhaps ever! As a volunteer for WWF Philippines I also donate all my videos to their coral triangle efforts.

So here they are, my top diving vids for 2010:

*Viewing advice*
Watching all of these videos could take a while. If you have time to spare, do grab a bag of chips and a drink. Enjoy!
(more…)

Do you like this Pawikan? If so, wwwf.org.ph/donate

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at October 6th, 2010

My friend Andrian Lee runs the backend for the WWF’s donations. For those of you thinking that donations can only be done via credit card, you will be surprised to know that they also accept deductions from your Bancnet ATM, a more viable option since not everybody has a credit card. You can opt to do a monthly recurring donation (you can specify the amount) OR you can do a one time donation.

Donors do get special benefits — passes to film showings sponsored by the WWF, first dibs to events such as cleanup dives, coastal cleanups and the like.

If you think this Pawikan is cute, why not donate a few pesos or so every month? If you don’t donate, you’re probably an evil person with no friends. This Pawikan will also die. By your hands.

Donate now at http://wwf.org/donate.

A convenient way to win 2 highly coveted tickets to Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 17th, 2010

I was floored when I got a call from C&G asking if I would like to take part in promoting this event. I’ve seen him work his magic on the Internet but it will be quite different when you see it in person.

So here’s the deal. I have two extra tickets to Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth this coming June 8 2010. See him live. Listen to him talk about global warming. Maybe have a photo with him. Post it on Facebook. Get comments.

June 8 2010
SM Mall of Asia
4:00 PM

(Remember that June 8 is a weekday!)

These tickets are expensive, so I’m giving these away to two individuals who can do the following:

1. Go to this post.
2. Read it.
3. Leave a reaction. Leave many more. The two people with the best insight and can converse with me there win. Also make sure you leave a valid name and email address or contact number.
4. Yes, I know the “best” is relative. But so are the tickets. They’re relatively expensive. If comments don’t get approved quickly, please be patient as I am usually out during the day.
5. I’ll close the conversation before midnight, this Monday, 11:59 PM May 24 2010.

Good luck and see you there!