Crown of Thorns Starfish Collection


	Take an active part in PROTECTING THE REEF, collect a C.O.T.!
		Above is a picture of a C.O.T. eating away at a lettuce coral. Note that the coral which it ate at is white and dead. Other coral and animal life can still grow onto the dead corals in the future, but we need to prevent any more damage caused by these C.O.T.s.
			CROWN OF THORNS STARFISH COLLECTION LEARNINGS & OBSERVATIONS: Jan 2005: We started collecting in our house reef at night as we have observed several COTs in the house reef during the day, about 15 covering a 40 meter length in 15 feet of water. When we collected at night we gathered over 70 COTs in 15 feet. We continued collecting twice a week, nightime until March. By April we observed only as much as only 4 COTs at night and none during the day in the area of collection. Consult your Instructor, Divemaster for safety guidelines in collecting COTs!
contact us: inquire@portulano.com +639178124257 or +639175404257 arnel@portulano.com or carmela@portulano.com
				photo shows white spots, the area which the C.O.T. has already eaten on coral.
		WHAT ARE COTs?C.O.T.'s or the Crown of Thorns Starfish feed on hard corals and it's predators are close to extinction due to shell collection, one of them is the Triton Shell which eats C.O.T.'s. COT PRESENCE:There has been a wave of C.O.T. (Crown of Thorns Starfish) in the Ligpo Area of Balayan Bay Batangas. The C.O.T.s have reached depths of 30meters/100ft but concentrations are greater in 18-14meters/60ft to shallows. COT COLLECTION PROJECT: We conduct regular harvesting of the C.O.T.'s from Portulano Dive Resort and the first phasewould be to arrest the increasing number destroying corals in specific areas, this time in the Ligpo Cavern and Pinnacle area. PREVENTIVE COLLECTION: What seems to be an effective way of preventiving an infestation would be to monitor reefs at night where COTs are not yet present during the day. It is possible that they cannot be observed during the day but are already growing in number, better observed during night dives. COTs are nocturnal and they hide in crevices during the day, what can be done is to collect them before they multiply in huge numbers. This can be done at night when they are out and vulnerable, not hiding in crevices. We have observed in our own house reef that they have decreased greatly in number and were not given a chance to spawn and enter into the deeper reefs. We need volunteers, experienced divers, advanced or rescue divers who can assist in the collection. Weekly collections will be conducted to help arrest increasing numbers in Ligpo area. Just advise us if you wish to participate as we are collecting on a weekly basis.