Survey confirms disappearing population of critically-endangered Irrawaddy dolphins in Bicol

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No sooner has their existence been confirmed that the rare Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) of San Miguel Bay in Bicol are already at risk of disappearing from the region.

The survey team spotted two Irrawaddy dolphins in San Miguel Bay in the Bicol region: one near Apuao Island and another near Canimog Island, both in the waters of Mercedes, Camarines Norte. (Image credit: MMRCL)

Irrawaddy dolphins are characterized by gray or dark-blue backs and pale bellies, with a high tolerance to various levels of salinity that enables them to live in areas where salty seawater and freshwater meet – such as in the mouths of rivers and bays. They are among the world’s most endangered dolphin species, indicated as critically endangered on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). They are also considered critically endangered by the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

A mission to find live Irrawaddy dolphins in the area of San Miguel Bay in Bicol led scientists from the University of the Philippines – Diliman College of Science Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology (UPD-CS IESM) to validate the existence in the area of this critically-endangered species during a recent dolphin survey conducted from July 6 to 9, 2023.

 



Efforts to locate Irrawaddy dolphins

The team, led by IESM Professor and Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Laboratory (MMRCL) Head Dr. Lemnuel Aragones, sighted two Irrawaddy dolphins—one near Apuao Island and another near Canimog Island, both in the waters of Mercedes, Camarines Norte.

“These dolphins prefer brackish waters, making the San Miguel Bay area an ideal place for the Irrawaddy dolphins to thrive, with its shallow depth, a wide range of salinities, and presence of nearby offshore islands,” Dr. Aragones explained.

The IESM researchers and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Regional Office 5 (BFAR5) were motivated to organize the dolphin survey after conducting key informant interviews in October 2022 about a stranded Irrawaddy dolphin reported as a bycatch in August of the same year.

The team covered a total area of about 680 square kilometers. In terms of travel distance, they covered a total of 335 kilometers in 23 hours, spread over four days, with transects traversing the shorelines of towns in Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur.



Seeking refuge in San Miguel Bay

According to Dr. Aragones, not only do these rare sightings of Irrawaddy dolphins confirm their existence in San Miguel Bay, they also indicate that only a few of these dolphins are left. “It is most likely that the Irrawaddy dolphins are using the offshore islands in the San Miguel Bay as a refuge area, and that there is now probably much less food for them there since it is one of the most over-exploited fishing grounds in the country,” Dr. Aragones explained.

Dr. Aragones also urged the creation of an action plan with BFAR5 on the protection and conservation of these critically-endangered dolphins. “I already talked with BFAR5 Regional Director Ariel Pioquinto about enhancing San Miguel Bay again to ensure the Irrawaddy dolphins’ habitat,” he said. “We hope to harmonize local ordinances with existing national laws regarding protected species.”

The dolphin survey team was composed of spotters from IESM; the BFAR5 – Fisheries Protection and Law Enforcement Group (BFAR5-FPLEG); the BFAR – Fisheries Resources Management Section (BFAR5-FRMS), and the Ateneo de Naga University Institute for Environmental Conservation and Research (INECAR).

Other populations of Irrawaddy dolphins in the Philippines can be found in Malampaya Sound in Palawan and the Iloilo-Guimaras-Negros Occidental area.

The dolphin survey team was composed of spotters from IESM; the BFAR5 – Fisheries Protection and Law Enforcement Group (BFAR5-FPLEG); the BFAR – Fisheries Resources Management Section (BFAR5-FRMS); and the Ateneo de Naga University Institute for Environmental Conservation and Research (INECAR). (Photo credit: MMRCL)

Philippines developers must embrace AI to stay competitive

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Fujikura is leading Sansan’s expansion into the Philippines and in charge of hiring up to 100 staff at its new Cebu development center by next year

Starting his career at the Silicon Valley (California, USA) subsidiary of Japan’s Osaka Gas Company, Fujikura Shigemoto witnessed first-hand the exciting joint venture projects between Japanese and U.S. companies. He worked on developing cutting-edge technology and bringing it back to Japan, with colleagues who wanted to change the world. It also filled him with a vision of deeply changing the world through technology. He quit his California job and returned to Japan.There, he joined a young innovative startup called Sansan, which has since gone on to become one of Japan’s leading technology companies following a 2019 IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TYO:4443).



As Sansan’s 18th employee, Fujikura worked as an engineer/developer in infrastructure design and server architecture, before being asked to become a manager and then Chief Technology Officer. Today, he is in charge of directing all tech matters at Sansan and was the leader pushing for a global development center overseas as far back as 2019. Then COVID hit, and plans had to be postponed. Fast forward to today, he is leading the company’s expansion into the Philippines via a new development center in Cebu that opened last year. He brings with him a unique international perspective having lived in the US, Japan, and the Philippines, as well as academic excellence with a Master of Science (MSc) in Intellectual Creation Systems from the Kanazawa Institute of TechnologyKanazawa Institute of Technology.

Fujikura Shigemoto, Director and CTO at Sansan Global Development Center, is available for media interviews to expand on the above as well as discuss:Generative AI has been a big change for the industry to grapple with, forcing companies new and old to think about how to use it in their own business processes.

Technology by itself is neutral, and can be used poorly or well depending on leadership. A change of mindset is required if firms are to take advantage of the powerful capabilities, or get left behind. Software engineers will be expected to develop their own AI in-house, so it’s vital for them to understand how to use AI optimally in development.

The Philippines needs to educate its engineering talent pool and new graduates on using AI technology, and universities must take time to incorporate this into their syllabuses. There will be opportunities for government agencies that still rely heavily on paper invoices and contracts to leverage AI to help them go more fully digital. The country’s senate is already actively debating the impact of AI on jobs.

 
Sansan, the listed Japanese tech leader, has been using optical character recognition (OCR) informed by AI to increase contextualization and enable 99.9% accuracy in its document scanning, as a core capability of its cloud platform since day one. Today, AI plays an important role in Sansan understanding the vast amounts of data that exist on its platform.

 
While the company has no immediate plans to develop its own generative AI, its teams in Tokyo have started using GPT4 as a layer running in the background. For example, in its Contract One service, which digitises contracts for SMEs and corporates, Sansan is leveraging generative AI to provide users with better suggestions. In future, Sansan expects to roll out more such capabilities across its invoicing and other services, and its technical team is actively exploring ways to incorporate machine learning to match duplicates in the Sansan contact management and digitally transformative cloud database.

PHLPost joins Alternative Dispute Resolutions webinar

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The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) has taken steps towards establishing their own Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR) program to fully equip PHLPost employees and officers in enhancing their knowledge and skills relative to the procedure used to resolve a dispute or controversy within their jurisdiction.

The Office for Alternative Dispute Resolution (OADR) facilitated the ADR Orientation for PHLPost last 23 June 2023, via Zoom online video conferencing platform.

The orientation is in line with the agency’s effort to enhance their services in addressing internal conflicts and grievances. The discussions covered ADR’s development in the country, its utilization advantages, OADR’s course offerings, and the establishment of an ADR program in the postal service.

Republic Act (RA) No. 9285, otherwise known as Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 2004 and Executive Order No. 97 mandates government agencies to establish a system in resolving disputes filed before them.

The webinar was participated by members of grievance machinery committees from the PHLPost Central Office, Regional Postal Areas 1-9 led by Acting Human Resource Management Department (HRMD) Manager Ms. Rosemarie Tubal and coordinated by Ms. Raquel Gonzales, HRMO III.

The comprehensive ADR accreditation training program has continued through the use of online platforms in reaching out to employees in implementing the ADR in their workplace.