Plastic pollution in the ocean is an emerging environmental concern in the Philippines. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of macroplastics, composition of plastic litter, and the clean-coast index (CCI) of urban and rural beaches in Sarangani Bay. Plastic litter was collected by delineating a 100-m transecting line with three 4 m × 4 m quadrats. The density of macroplastic litter in urban areas (0.66 items m⁻²) was significantly higher than in rural areas (0.29 items m⁻²). The plastics sampled were predominantly food packaging, such as polyethylene bags, which are locally known as sando bags. The accumulation rate of macroplastic litter ranged from 0.07 items d⁻¹ m⁻² to 0.40 items d⁻¹ m⁻², in which urban beaches (0.25 items d⁻¹ m⁻²) have a significantly higher accumulation rate than rural beaches (0.11 items d⁻¹ m⁻²). Overall, the calculated CCI of the beaches of Sarangani Bay was categorized as clean to moderately clean for rural beaches and moderately clean to extremely dirty for urban beaches.

Microplastics (MPs) have become an emerging threat to the marine environment and biota. This study was conducted to determine the occurrence of MPs on the beach sand of Puerto Princesa, Philippines. Microplastics were extracted from the beach sand through the flotation method and preliminarily identified using a stereomicroscope. A total of 47 MPs were extracted from beach sand. Among the 21 sampling sites, the beach sands from 15 sites were contaminated with MPs. The east coast of Puerto Princesa (0.023 particles/g) has significantly higher MP abundance than the west coast (0.006 particles/g). The shapes of MPs were predominantly fiber (79%), and the majority were blue. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis identified polymer types of mainly polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP). Overall, 71% of the sampling sites showed the presence of MPs. Future studies should consider the presence and effects of MPs in the food chain, particularly on seafood.

The live reef fish food trade (LRFFT) is one of the fisheries activities in the Philippines, making vital contributions to the economy. The Leopard coral grouper (Plectropomus leopardus, Lacepède, 1802) is the most highly valued commercial fish species utilized for LRFFT. Aside from overexploitation, the trade of P. leopardus has been unprecedentedly challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic. This research examines these challenges through assessments of their impacts on the trade dynamics of P. leopardus, from 2018 to 2021, as well as qualitative analysis of the government’s responses during the COVID-19 outbreak. Trade parameters examined include export volume, market value, transhipment ports, and shipment status. The results showed that Puerto Princesa City and Quezon are the top exporters of the commodity from southern Palawan, while Coron generated the highest production from northern Palawan. Live P. leopardus was the most preferred commodity, and the majority were transported to the National Capital Region (Metro Manila). The control measures against the pandemic, which imposed lengthy community quarantines, restrictions on the movement of people and commodities, fear of recurring outbreaks, and unstable food security, have substantially caused trade disruptions. To meet these challenges, the government’s coping strategies, such as stabilizing the supply chain, food security monitoring, price-stabilization scheme, and conditional cash assistance program, were employed to offset the negative impacts in both short- and long-term scenarios. This study concludes with emerging opportunities to improve domestic policies, regulations, and collaborative partnerships among the different stakeholders for greater resilience.

This study was conducted to determine and compare the antimicrobial property of the epidermal mucus of Tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) from two environmental conditions, the fish tank and fishpond. The antimicrobial property was determined using Filter Paper Disc Diffusion Method with Amoxicillin and Nystatin as the positive controls and distilled water as the negative control. Results showed significant differences in the effects of the treatments when tested against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus megaterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus (p < 0.05). The Duncan’s Multiple Range Test further proved that the mucus of Tilapia from fishpond was significantly higher in terms of antibacterial property compared to mucus of Tilapia from fish tank. On the other hand, both of the epidermal mucus of Tilapia from fishpond and fish tank did not show any inhibitory effect against P. aeruginosa and A. niger. The epidermal mucus of Tilapia showed bacteriostatic fungistatic and bactericidal effects against test microorganisms. Based on the results, the mucus of Oreochromis spp. from fishpond and fish tank are potential sources of antimicrobial compounds.