Danajon Bank
Also known as: Danajon Double Barrier Reef · Danajon Bank double barrier reef system
Definition
Danajon Bank is a double barrier reef off the north coast of Bohol in the central Philippines, spanning the waters of Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, and Southern Leyte provinces. It is the only documented double barrier reef in the Philippines and one of very few such formations in the world, consisting of two parallel reef ridges separated by a lagoon. The bank is a historic source of coastal fisheries for dozens of island and mainland communities, and in recent decades it has become a priority seascape for marine conservation because of heavy fishing pressure and habitat loss. (Wikipedia)
Identities
| Source Type | Identity |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | Danajon Bank |
| Wikidata | Q1159263 |
| DBpedia | N/A |
| ProductOntology | N/A |
| Wiktionary | N/A |
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) | N/A |
| MeSH | N/A |
| NCBI Taxonomy | N/A |
| AGROVOC | coral reefs |
| Google Scholar | Danajon Bank double barrier reef Bohol Philippines fisheries marine protected areas |
| ConceptNet | reef |
| OpenCyc | N/A |
Also Known As
- Danajon Double Barrier Reef
- Danajon Bank double barrier reef system
Examples and Analogies
- A reef with a backup wall: A single barrier reef protects a coast like one offshore breakwater; Danajon’s twin parallel ridges work like two successive sea walls with a lagoon avenue between them — a geometry so rare that only a handful exist worldwide, compared by scientists to the classic double barriers of Belize and New Caledonia.
- A fisheries supermarket under stress: Its lagoon and ridges historically functioned as a vast nursery and larder for the Visayas, which is exactly why decades of intensive fishing have emptied so much of its shelves.
Usage Scenarios
1. Small-Scale Fisheries
Tens of thousands of fishers from island barangays and mainland towns depend on the bank’s reef fisheries for food and livelihood, using nets, traps, and gleaned catch.
2. Marine Conservation Programming
Government agencies and NGOs have established networks of marine protected areas across the bank, and the reef served as a globally publicized case study for linking coastal livelihoods with habitat restoration.
Strategies
- Conservation planning treats Danajon Bank as one connected seascape, coordinating municipal marine protected areas so larval supply and fish spill-over link neighboring no-take zones.
- Livelihood interventions — seaweed farming, alternative income, and gear restrictions — target the destructive fishing that drove the reef’s decline.
Security and Safety Measures
- Municipal bantay dagat (sea patrol) teams enforce protected-area boundaries and ban destructive gears such as blast fishing apparatus, which endanger both habitat and fishers.
- Safe navigation around the shallow reef ridges requires local knowledge; boats transiting the lagoon follow established channels to avoid grounding.
Historical Context
Danajon Bank formed over millennia as reef growth tracked changing sea levels, producing its rare double-ridge structure between Bohol and the Camotes–Leyte waters. By the twentieth century its sheltered lagoon anchored some of the densest artisanal fisheries in the Visayas, but postwar population growth, blast fishing, and mangrove conversion degraded large portions of the reef. International attention peaked in the 2000s and 2010s, when collaborative programs documented the bank’s biodiversity and championed it as the Philippines’ flagship example of a recovering double barrier reef.
Challenges and Controversies
Overfishing and Destructive Practices
Decades of intense fishing — including dynamite and cyanide use in earlier eras — reduced fish stocks and flattened coral cover, and enforcement across many small municipalities remains uneven.
Multiple Jurisdictions
The bank cuts across the political boundaries of four provinces and dozens of local governments, so coherent seascape governance depends on inter-LGU cooperation that is difficult to sustain.
Related Topic
Bohol (Province)