{"id":3144,"date":"2017-05-18T06:33:38","date_gmt":"2017-05-18T06:33:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/?p=3144"},"modified":"2017-05-18T06:33:38","modified_gmt":"2017-05-18T06:33:38","slug":"bigiw-bugsay-race-revives-traditional-sailing-culture-of-tanon-strait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/bigiw-bugsay-race-revives-traditional-sailing-culture-of-tanon-strait\/","title":{"rendered":"Bigiw-Bugsay Race revives traditional sailing culture of Ta\u00f1on Strait"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Philippines is a sailing nation \u2013 a country of 7641 islands connected for thousands of years by waterways via various watercraft.\u00a0To celebrate the Month of the Oceans, Island Buzz Philippines, a water sports company dedicated to make Cebu the \u2018Paddling Capital of the Philippines\u2019, paid tribute to traditional Visayan sailing and paddling culture by organizing a Bigiw regatta. Held on 13 May in Moalboal, the second annual \u2018Bigiw Bugsay\u2019 event gathered both traditional sailors and modern stand-up paddle-boarders in the biggest flotilla yet seen in Southern Cebu.<\/strong><\/div>\n
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The Bigiw is a traditional dugout outrigger sailing canoe which for generations has been used by fishers in the Ta\u00f1on Strait, a 161-kilometer strip which connects the Visayan and Bohol Seas. Lying between the islands of Cebu and Negros, the Strait is incredibly rich in biodiversity \u2013 hosting 62% of the country\u2019s coral species, plus 14 species of whales and dolphins.<\/div>\n
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Oceana Philippines, Earth\u2019s largest nonprofit dedicated solely to marine conservation, is working with government agencies and other stakeholders to ensure the protection and conservation of this important protected area and fishing ground.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe Strait provides food and livelihood for 42 towns and municipalities, making it among our top fishing areas,\u201d says Oceana Philippines Vice President Atty. Gloria Estenzo Ramos. \u201cHowever, it is threatened by commercial fishers who illegally fish inside the Strait \u2013 despite a ban on commercial fishing in both municipal waters and protected areas. By empowering local fishers and sailors to protect their home waters, we\u2019ll ensure a steady supply of fish for everyone \u2013 especially artisanal fishers who fish near the coast.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Owing to new boats and outboard engines, the Strait\u2019s traditional sailing practices are fading. \u201cWe aim to keep old sailing practices alive. Instead of using noisy and polluting boats with outboard engines, we\u2019re promoting sailing as a low-impact and low-cost means of transportation,\u201d says Island Buzz Philippines head Buzzy Budlong. \u201cWe hope that future events shall be graced by the fastest paddlers in Cebu and most importantly, local fishermen who will show off their traditional paddling and sailing techniques.\u201d<\/div>\n
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This year\u2019s race was special because Oceana, Pioneer Epoxy and the local government of Moalboal gave out 50 new sails to the participants. \u201cOur fishers are true conservation front-liners as they can report illegal and destructive activities to authorities. By arming them not just with sails but skills and the passion to protect the Ta\u00f1on Strait, we\u2019ll keep both our fish stocks and fishers away from rough waters,\u201d concludes Ramos.<\/div>\n
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Oceana works closely with stakeholders which include a wide range of public and private institutions to end illegal commercial fishing in both the Ta\u00f1on Strait and across the Philippines. The list of winners can be viewed here<https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/IslandBuzzPhilippines\/<\/a>><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Held on 13 May in Moalboal, the second annual \u2018Bigiw Bugsay\u2019 event gathered both traditional sailors and modern stand-up paddle-boarders in the biggest flotilla yet seen in Southern Cebu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3145,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1675,1332,110,1676],"class_list":["post-3144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsmakers","tag-bigiw-bugsay","tag-sailing","tag-travel-2","tag-travel-cebu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3144"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3146,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3144\/revisions\/3146"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}