The Sarangani Bay Reef Dome Project

Stan de la Cruz · Issue 46, Jan/Feb 2009 · pp. 67–69

The Sarangani Bay reef dome project was conceived by two scuba diving friends, Chris Dearne ( a British expat) and John Heitz (an American expat), who while having a drink one afternoon, were lamenting the state of local coral reefs and it’s lack of protection. For a region that pride’s itself as the Tuna Capital of the Philippines, and with the bay noted for being home to some rare and exotic creatures, this was a sad state of affairs indeed. A few bottles of San Miguel later it was decided that if anything was going to be done to restore and improve the local marine environment, the private sector (meaning Chris and John), would have to be the ones to take the lead. A few more bottles of San Miguel later they remembered a discarded cement hollow block in one of their dive sites that had sprouted some coral, and from this they drew inspiration. Research turned up a diverse set of ideas …