A dead dolphin washed ashore on the beach of Barangay Hilaitan in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, on Wednesday morning, September 23, 2026, after residents reported a foul odor emanating from the area, according to the Guihulngan City Public Information Office.
Initial examination of the carcass revealed wounds believed to have been caused by the propeller of a pump boat. The PIO report did not identify the dolphin’s species.
Multi-Agency Teams Respond to Shoreline Discovery
Personnel from the city’s Department of Agriculture–Fishery Section responded to the report alongside the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), the Philippine Coast Guard, Bantay-Dagat, barangay officials, and members of the City Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (CFARMC).
The joint team located the carcass on the beach and conducted an inspection and documentation exercise to determine the possible cause of death, the PIO said. The agencies involved also ensured the proper and safe burial of the dolphin’s remains to prevent possible health and environmental risks in the surrounding area.
Guihulngan Lies Within a Nationally Protected Marine Zone
The incident occurred within the waters of the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape, declared through Proclamation No. 1234 signed by President Fidel V. Ramos on May 27, 1998. The strait, bounded by Cebu to the east and Negros to the west, is considered the country’s largest marine protected area, covering 521,018 hectares — approximately five times the size of Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park.
Its protected status was later reinforced under the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (ENIPAS) Act of 2018. Under the original proclamation, the entire strait is protected and all cetaceans receive full protection under both local and national law.
Guihulngan City is among the coastal local governments that have signed conservation agreements along the strait, alongside Amlan, Bais City, La Libertad, and San Jose in Negros Oriental.
Dolphins Protected Under a 1992 Fisheries Order
Dolphins in Philippine waters are covered by Fisheries Administrative Order No. 185 of 1992, which bans the taking, catching, selling, purchasing, transporting, and exporting of dolphins. A violation involving a protected cetacean within a protected seascape would carry legal consequences under both the fisheries order and the ENIPAS Act.
Strait Is Home to at Least 13 Whale and Dolphin Species
Records from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Central Visayas list at least 13 species of whales and dolphins in the Tañon Strait. Surveys conducted from 2014 onward identified resident populations of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins and feeding spinner dolphins.
Other recorded species include Risso’s dolphins, short-finned pilot whales, dwarf sperm whales, melon-headed whales, false killer whales, and pantropical spotted dolphins, according to marine mammal habitat records.
The spinner dolphin remains the most commonly sighted species in the strait. In a cetacean survey conducted from April 26 to May 6, 2026, by the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape office and Silliman University, spinner dolphins were the most abundant of five species recorded, according to the Philippine Information Agency.
Researchers Warn of Declining Dolphin Sightings and Stress Behavior
The latest incident adds to growing concerns about pressure on the strait’s cetacean populations. A 2024 report from the University of the Philippines Diliman noted that a recent survey recorded only three species and observed notably evasive behavior among the dolphins — a possible sign of stress attributed to persistent and aggressive dolphin-watching boats.
The strait’s marine mammals have also figured in a landmark legal case. In Resident Marine Mammals of the Protected Seascape Tañon Strait v. Reyes, decided on April 21, 2015, the Supreme Court nullified an oil exploration contract for violating the Constitution and environmental laws governing protected areas — a ruling that affirmed the legal standing of the strait’s wildlife as subjects of protection.
By the Numbers
- 521,018 hectares — total area of the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape, the country’s largest marine protected area
- 5x — how much larger the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape is compared to Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park
- 13 species — number of whale and dolphin species recorded in the strait by the DENR Central Visayas
- 5 species — number of cetacean species recorded in the April 26–May 6, 2026 survey by the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape office and Silliman University
- 3 species — number recorded in the most recent UP Diliman survey, down from historical counts, raising conservation concerns
- 1992 — year Fisheries Administrative Order No. 185, banning the taking and trading of dolphins, took effect
- May 27, 1998 — date Proclamation No. 1234 declared the Tañon Strait a protected seascape
Why This Matters
The death of a dolphin with suspected propeller wounds inside one of the Philippines’ most ecologically significant marine protected areas raises immediate questions about vessel activity and enforcement within the Tañon Strait. The incident comes as researchers have already flagged a measurable decline in species diversity and increased stress behavior among the strait’s dolphin populations. With dolphins fully protected under both Fisheries Administrative Order No. 185 and the ENIPAS Act, the findings of the ongoing inspection and documentation by multi-agency teams will be critical in determining whether any legal violations occurred.
Photo credit: Photo courtesy of Guihulngan City PIO
