A POSSIBLE outbreak of the crown-of-thorns starfish poses a threat to the livelihood of fishermen in Sarangani, an official at the Protected Area Management Office of the Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape (SBPS) said on June 15N

Cirilo Lagnason JrN, SBPS deputy protected area superintendent, said there has been a noticeable increase in the number of the starfish species in the towns of Glan, Maasim and KiambaN

Lagnason said more dive spots there have recently been invaded by hundreds of starfish within a 100-square meter radiusN

He added the number decreased after they conducted a cleanup last month, but it again increased this monthN

Lagnason said the SBPS could not clean up the affected area alone, which he estimated to be 2 hectaresN

He appealed to stakeholders, such as beach resort owners and big companies in Sarangani, to focus on the problem posed by the starfish instead of on tree planting as part of their corporate social responsibilityN

He said it needed an urgent solution as the starfish have crowded the reefs and may destroy corals, which serve as a habitat for the fishes.

Lagnason said that an uncontrollable number of these invasive starfish species will adversely affect the lives of the residents of Sarangani who depend on fishing for livelihoodN

He added that with the help of divers they have removed over 100,000 starfish since October 2021, and they plan to extract more in the next few daysN