Danao City offers residents reward for catching 'sanay'

The Danao City government had put up a total of P10, 000 in funds for incentives to any city resident who will be able to catch the Crown-of-Thorns starfish, locally known as "sanay."

Mayor Ramon "Nito" Durano III and the city council agreed to grant the reward as a way to encourage the people to help the city's campaign against this destructive starfish.

Vice Mayor Ramon Durano Jr., said the Crown-of-Thorns starfish should be eliminated from the seawaters off the city because it has been destroying the ecological condition of the place and the livelihood of small fishermen.

The reward, however, is exclusively for Danao residents only, especially the members of a fishermen's group authorized to collect "sanay." The collectors have agreed to receive P0.50 each for one "sanay" caught, but with its body parts intact.

Every "sanay" caught and paid for already must then be disposed by destroying and exposing it to sunlight for at least two days.

The Wikipedia encyclopedia's description reads: "The Crown-of-Thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) is a red-colored starfish with thorn-like spines sprouting all over its body for protection. These echinoderms grow to a diameter of up to 40 cm across and have 12-19 arms extending from their center.

If accidentally touched or stepped on by humans, the starfish's long spines are capable of pricking and stinging, inflicting great pain that can last up to hours. Other symptoms include nausea and vomiting. Frequently, the area around the puncture turns a dark blue (erythema) and begins to swell (oedema), which may persist for a number of days.

This starfish is a coral reef predator (a corallivore) and preys on the coral polyps by climbing onto them, extruding the stomach over them, and releasing digestive enzymes to then absorb the liquefied tissue.

They feed alone at night, maintaining a constant distance from each other. During times of food shortage, these creatures can live on their energy reserves for over six months.

Population of these starfish increased since the 1970s and outbreaks of huge numbers of their kind are believed caused by agricultural runoff, which causes algal blooms.

Few animals in the sea are willing to attack the spiny and toxic Crown-of-Thorns starfish, which are voracious predators that can wipe out large areas of coral; One such starfish can consume up to 13 square miles of corals per year.

But some sea creatures, such as the Giant Triton Shell (Charonia tritonis)-a species of shrimp, actually prey on these starfish." - Jose P. Sollano