Destinations

In the midst of the giant groupers

First mastered by the Taiwanese in the 1970s, full-cycle or closed loop mariculture entails breeding and rearing fish in complete captivity and is meant to eliminate the need to draw from wild stocks. Hardier but lower-value species such as green grouper and tiger grouper have been successfully bred and reared in captivity since the year 2000. Few have met success with finicky leopard coral trout, but the Palawan Aquaculture Corporation claims to have successfully bred them – a vital first step for the road to full-cycle mariculture.

Published

11 years ago

May 14, 2015

Contributing Writer

By Gregg Yan, WWF

A typical grow-out facility in Southern Palawan. Operators must feed and protect the fish, which are held in submerged cages beneath and around the central hut for around 10 months. There is no electricity. Food and water are supplied exclusively by boat (Gregg Yan/WWF)

“Don’t fall into that fish pen,” warns Daryl Dandal, an offshore cage warden. “It has two giant groupers. Both are larger than you.”

I nod and tiptoe through a network of planks above the glittering waters of Taytay in Palawan, Philippines. Here lie about 2,000 fish cages, where various species of grouper are grown to feed a ballooning export trade. For the Philippines, this is the center of the LRFFT: the live reef food fish trade.

What began in the 1980s as an experiment in Samar now employs over 100,000 people in Palawan alone. Palawan’s annual grouper exports exceed P1.7 billion – but the fish are slowly disappearing.

LEOPARD CORAL TROUT

Chinese restaurants usually have a bubbling tank of grouper. Locally called lapu-lapu, señorita or suno, the lethargic predators are among Asia’s most sought-after reef fish, prized for taste and texture. Across the Philippines, millions of juveniles are caught before they reproduce, raising serious concerns about the LRFFT’s sustainability.

Although there are 161 grouper species, the apple of traders’ eyes is the leopard coral trout, an orange fish that fetches up to P7,200 per kilogram in Hong Kong and P13,500 per kilogram in China.

“When the trade started in the 1980s, most wild-caught groupers were market-sized, each around a foot long,” recounts Dr. Geoffrey Muldoon, WWF’s LRFFT strategy leader. “After 30 years, most of the large ones have been fished out. Today just one in five wild-caught groupers is market-sized. Since there aren’t enough adults to go around, the trade turned to grouper ranching, a system where juveniles are caught and grown in guarded offshore cages.”

Within submerged cages and pens, groupers must endure temperature fluctuations, overcrowding and diseases. Many die in the process. Those that survive around 10 months in captivity are sold as market-sized fish – each around a foot long and weighing from 500 to 700 grams. At this stage in the supply chain, a single suno, as the leopard coral trout is locally known, retails for about P2,500.

It’s a lucrative livelihood. Fishers earn up to 50 times more selling a kilogram of suno than other types of fish. Federico and Nida Ellut from northern Palawan sent their three children to school from their income as grouper collectors.

“From a simple straw hut, we now have a two-bedroom concrete home. We’re saving to buy our third boat,” says Nida.

Money talks – but extraction has hidden costs.

STOCKS DEPLETED?

The current system of LRFFT collection is untenable: WWF surveys have shown that over half the groupers taken from Palawan’s reefs are juveniles, a clear sign of dangerous stock depletion.

“Overharvesting has been a huge problem. Fishers were catching five times more than what could be sustained. Spawning aggregations were targeted, depleting brood-stock. Fortunately local governments and fishing communities have embraced conservation efforts,” says WWF-Philippines project manager Mavic Matillano.

WWF is now leading efforts to facilitate the recovery of suno stocks by establishing marine protected areas, plus enhanced enforcement, licensing and education. Alternative solutions may also exist.

“Given the fishery’s dependence on wild juveniles, a way forward is through full-cycle mariculture, potentially freeing suppliers from having to catch wild fish,” explains Muldoon.

Farmed suno might soon be a commercial reality, but the clock is ticking.

“Just a few years ago, the panther grouper was at the top of the LRFFT heap,” says Matillano. “It was caught and exported by the millions, but stocks crashed and the government imposed a total ban on the panther grouper. The suno was next in line, becoming LRFFT’s top-traded fish.”

* * *

As I jump and dive around the floating leopard farms of Taytay, I notice how leopard coral trout comprise just half the fish in the cages. Whereas a few years ago cages would brim with bright red suno, each fish cage now hosts an eclectic blend of strawberry, saddle, harlequin and other types of grouper – now pressed into the trade to take the declining suno’s place.

I ponder how long before the suno population crashes. If and when it does, the market will likely move on to other fish, continuing the pattern of over-consumption. It’s clear that full-cycle mariculture of suno and other grouper species is the LRFFT’s best way forward.

Floating offshore cages house dozens of juvenile groupers in the municipality of Taytay in Northern Palawan (Jun Lao)

Cherished in China for their ‘lucky’ red color, leopard coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus) await their fate inside a floating cage in Palawan. Some die of stress and disease – but enough survive to make the trade lucrative. Gregg Yan/WWF)

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Contributing Writer

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Travel

Treacherous beauty: Hiking at South Stack Lighthouse in Wales

#Lighthouse fever in #Holyhead, #anglesey via the #SouthStackLighthouse, as checked during this #LGBT trip to #Wales.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 2, 2026

M.D. dela Cruz Tan, MDC

Yes, tech has made many lighthouses redundant. Not that they’re no longer relevant. But navigation-wise, we know we have more advanced solutions. Which, perhaps not surprisingly, led to the reconfiguration of many of them.

In Holyhead, Anglesey in Wales, introducing the South Stack Lighthouse.

@outragemag #Lighthouse fever in #Holyhead, #anglesey via the #SouthStackLighthouse, as checked during this #LGBT trip to #Wales ♬ original sound – Outrage Magazine

Una, you’d need a ride to be there. Some use private cars, as we did; others join tours; and others cycle to the place.

Ikalawa, what’s there?

The lighthouse itself is located on a small, rocky island off Holyhead. From afar, it looks like someone’s grand home; mansion-like. Accessible siya after you descend down 400 steep steps.

What will you see while there?

the former lighthouse engine room
the top of the lighthouse
South Stack is also home to breeding seabirds including guillemots, razorbills and puffins

Here’s an FYI: seasonal lang siya bukas.

This is a must-check for lighthouse lovers, of course. Historic, it was built in 1809 by Trinity House from the design of Daniel Alexander. 91-foot tall, it used to allow safe passage for ships on the Dublin–Holyhead–Liverpool sea route.

Another FYI: It is allegedly haunted, and has been visited by a team from “Most Haunted”.

The area housing the lighthouse is, itself, worth checking. There are trails for hikers or joggers or cyclists; though the same could be enjoyed by those who are there only to look for good shots.

Check when you’re in the area… even if you just pass by. Nice siya, promise.

But off we go for more LGBTQIA+ rampa…

Travel

Enjoying nature via trail hiking in Wales

Enjoying nature via #trail #hiking at #Snowdonia #SnowdoniaSlateTrail during one #LGBT visit in #Gwynedd, #Wales.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 1, 2026

M.D. dela Cruz Tan, MDC

When in Bangor, you’d be told often that among the best things to do is to hike. And among the must-check is the Snowdonia Slate Trail, which links the old slate-quarrying communities of Eryri/Snowdonia.

So… ayan na nga, even without the right outfit for hiking, but ayaw ma-miss ang chance to check the area, off we went.

@outragemag Enjoying nature via #trail #hiking at #Snowdonia #SnowdoniaSlateTrail during one #LGBT visit in #Gwynedd, #Wales ♬ original sound – Outrage Magazine

Una, the circular route starts near Bangor/Porth Penrhyn. And you need a car or whatever to get to the starting point.

Ikalawa, the trail isn’t just for hiking. It’s also for biking or walking dogs. So you’d be sharing the 133-kilometer long trail with others.

Ikatlo, what’s there?

Mountains built by remnants from quarry sites, to start.

So… Gwynedd used to be known for slate quarrying, and among the biggest players is Penrhyn Quarry which is near Gwynedd, part of The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Now… with slate quarrying, around 75% of extracted material are inferior in quality, called overburden, and so becoming mineral waste. Here, they’re now mountains.

But the trail also shows views typically associated with Wales – e.g. rolling hills that go on forever, rock fences, sheep farms, canals with flowing water… and more.

Usually, sa matatag, people hike the Snowdonia Slate Trail for up to seven days, passing through Bethesda, Llanberis, and so on. But for others… it’s but an opportunity to commune with nature, in a way, while taking those must-have shots.

But we’re off for more LGBTQIA+ discoveries…

Destinations

Finding beauty, and not just of faith, at the Bangor Cathedral

Seeking #LGBT #faith or beauty in #Wales? Check out the #Bangor Cathedral in #Gwynedd.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 27, 2026

M.D. dela Cruz Tan, MDC

A common practice among many Pinoy travelers is to visit a church, preferably Roman Catholic, in new places visited. Here’s the thing when you’re in the United Kingdom: it’s harder than you think because, while Catholics do exist, many of the churches here are of the Church of England/Anglican.

On one hand, without intending to gaslight, I often joke that it’s not like you’re praying to different gods (LOL).

But on the other hand, actually dropping by these churches can be eye-opening. Not just to faith, but seeing beauty in their richness… in history, architecture, and so on…

At least this is what was gleaned in the Bangor Cathedral in Wales.

@outragemag Seeking #LGBT #faith or beauty in #Wales? Check out the #Bangor Cathedral in #Gwynedd ♬ original sound – Outrage Magazine

Una, if you’re in Gwynedd, this is very accessible. It’s there, in the middle of the oldest city in Wales. But if you’re from elsewhere, you need to travel to the city that’s over three hours away from London.

Ikalawa, this is formally St. Deiniol’s Cathedral, which has been used since about the 6th century.

As FYI: St. Deiniol, the 6th-century Welsh saint, wasn’t “made” a saint through the Roman Catholic canonization process. In the olden times, Welsh/Celtic Christian holy figures were usually recognized by local church tradition, reputation for holiness, and their role as founders/abbots/bishops, rather than by a formal Vatican procedure. In the case of Deiniol, he founded the monastery/church at Bangor around 525, so that over time, he was venerated as Saint Deiniol.

Ikatlo, what to see there?

Architecturally, it’s a mix of Norman/Romanesque and Gothic. It does feel medieval… and grandly so.

Inside, you’d see a layered medieval–Victorian Gothic interior, apparent in the stone arches, choir stalls, stained glass, and so on.

Those stained glasses, let’s emphasize, are from the 19th- and early-20th-century, including works by Clayton & Bell, James Powell & Sons, Burlison & Grylls, and Mayer & Co.

Should you seek this one out? Deserving ba na sadyain? Kung nasa area ka na, keri. Welcoming naman ang church.

Otherwise… rampa elsewhere na, as I do sa patuloy na LGBTQIA+ wandering…