Do you know that our beloved dilis is in the red list for extinction? Yes, my dear fellow citizens of this country. The dilis, our sought after treat in the form of salted fish and fish paste, or cooked crispy fried, served with tomatoes on vinegar and scrambled eggs to match a cup of “kapeng barako” (native coffee) and pandesal or fried rice, is in danger of extinction. It is not only the dilis that is facing this dilemma, but 28 other fishes in Philippine waters.

If you have read the news lately, it was cited that twenty-nine bony fish species that is unique to Philippine waters, the dilis included, have been documented, and threats to their survival have been enumerated  in “Red List Status of Marine Endemic Teleosts (Bony Fishes) of the Philippines,” which is a publication of the First Philippine Conservation Inc. (FPCI) and the Global Marine Species Assessment for the Coral Triangle.

We may read from specific articles that the Philippines is the world’s center of biodiversity, and that, it is home to a high variety of  marine life.  As a matter of  fact, our country is the second largest archipelago with 7,107 islands and islets and territorial waters where marine life abound. Which is also the reason why we have many tourists coming in for the view and the experience, as well as the studies and discoveries. And with the red list at hand, we may be able to help preserve and conserve what little number of every species there is left among the 29 that was mentioned in the study.

Check out the data below:Red List Status of Marine Endemic Teleosts (Bony Fishes) of the Philippines

In case you are wondering, The Red List authors are prominent biologists Dr. Kent Carpenter, Moonyeen Nida Alava, Dr. Beth Polidoro, Mike Joshua Palomar, and environmental lawyer Rodolfo Ferdinand Quicho, Jr. On the international level, Dr. Kent Carpenter coordinates the Global Marine Species Assessment (GMSA),  as he seeks to conduct Red List Assessment of 20,000 marine species globally within 2010. In the Philippines, GMSA provides technical supervision in research and analysis, as well as training.

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