Gilly reached his target!

Thanks so much for everyone's support. Gilly has asked me to help him make videos to show you what your kindness has achieved. Thank you so much!

Coastal Communities and Marine Biodiversity in the Philippines are suffering due to Covid-19

Gilly worked for years as a guide in the dive tourism industry on Malapascua island in the Philippines which is a popular dive destination to see sharks. Now, he hasn't worked for 8 months and only has longlining gear for catching sharks from his work as a fisher prior to the tourism boom over the past 15 years. Shark meat is low value and also he hopes tourism will return after Covid 19 and divers will return to see the sharks once again, so he doesn't want to go longlining for them but needs to feed his family.

Instead, he wants to buy a compiant anchovy fishing net so that he can fish more sustainably, and get a higher price per kg for his catch to feed his family and provide nutritious seafood for his community.

SCUBA divers and fishers working in ecotourism who were once fishers have been asking me for help as their families are starving due to Covid 19.

Read about this situation in more detail here.

Before they turned to work in ecotourism and diving, they were mostly fishers, but now they have little or no fishing gear so that they can feed their families.

As you would expect, they are fishing for whatever fish they can catch, with whatever fishing gear they have got to stay alive and feed their families!

Some of them have no gear at all, or what fishing gear they have has been damaged in Typhoon Ursula and some of them are catching sharks, when sharks were their main source of income as SCUBA dive guides. Malapascua island may recover it's dive tourism after Covid 19, but with fewer sharks, it may not be a viable tourist destination.

To make compliant fishing gear, Gilly needs 5 bundles of net which are 5000 pesos each, ropes, floats and sinkers. Then he needs to travel over 200km which sells compliant .

Rea about this situation in more detail here.

We need to help them buy complient fishing gear so that they can fish more sustainably.

This fundraiser takes a first step to raise funds for one net, for catching anchovies, as requested by an fisherman who gave up fishing to work in the dive industry.

There are many more asking ReefScan for help, but this will be a start.

Read about this situation in more detail here.

It's time to help them!