| Tañon Strait | |
|---|---|
 Tañon Strait as seen from Osmeña Peak, Cebu | |
.svg)  Tañon Strait Location within the Philippines Show map of Visayas.svg) Tañon Strait Tañon Strait (Philippines) Show map of Philippines | |
| Location | Visayas |
| Coordinates | 10°25′16″N123°31′44″E / 10.42111°N 123.52889°E /10.42111; 123.52889 |
| Type | strait |
| Managing agency | DENR |
| Designation | Protected Seascape (1998) |
| Max. length | 160 km (100 miles)[1] |
| Max. width | 27 km (17 miles)[1] |
| Max. depth | 500 m (1,600 feet)[2] |
| Shore length1 | 450 km (280 miles)[2] |
| 1 Shore length isnot a well-defined measure. | |
TheTañon Strait (Filipino:Kipot ng Tañon) is a body of water, separating the islands ofNegros andCebu in theVisayas,Philippines. The strait, which is about 160 kilometres (100 mi) long, connects theVisayan Sea in the north to theBohol Sea in the south. Its width varies from 5 to 27 kilometres (3 to 17 mi), with the narrowest point in the south.[1] In the north the strait is closed off by theDon Islands, the largest of which isBantayan. The cities ofSan Carlos, Negros Occidental,Bais, Negros Oriental andToledo, Cebu have deepwater port facilities. The Tañon Strait is known forwhale and dolphin watching, with tour boats operating from Bais.
The Tañon Strait Protected Seascape (IUCN Management Category V) was established byPresident Ramos underProclamation No. 1234 of 1998.[3] With an area of more than 5,000 square kilometres (1,900 sq mi), it is the largestmarine protected area in the Philippines.[2] Taňon Strait was one of the seascape sites covered by the UNDP projectStrengthening the Marine Protected Area System to Conserve Marine Key Biodiversity Areas (Smart Seas Philippines) (2014–2020), which listedConservation International Philippines as a local partner.[4]
On February 7, 2008, theSupreme Court of the Philippines ordered theDepartment of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Energy to comment on acertiorari petition filed forbaleen andtoothedwhales,dolphins,porpoises including theIrrawaddy dolphins, and othercetacean species in the Tañon Strait to stopoil exploration by Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. (JAPEX) in the protected waterway. The strait serves as a marine wildlife reserve that provides grounds for breeding, feeding and resting to 11 species of marine mammals. The court was asked to recognize the petitioners as "Filipino mammals" with constitutional rights.[5][6]
JAPEX subsequently abandoned oil exploration in the area, saying that initial drilling had shown lack of commercial opportunity. However the Supreme Court case continued.[7][8]
InCebuano mythology, one of the three winged giant messengers of the Cebuano supreme god Kaptan was punished for stealing a unique sacred shell which can turn anybody into anything they please. The messenger, Sinogo, was a handsome man and the "favorite of Kaptan". Upon hearing of Sinogo's treachery, Kaptan ordered the others to pursue Sinogo. Sinogo fled west and eventually used the shell's power to turn himself into a giant crocodile (a sacred animal in old beliefs) so he could go deep in the straight "between two islands", modern-day Cebu and Negros. Kaptan, disappointed and angry, struck Sinogo with lightning, shocking the messenger giant and imprisoning him for all of eternity in modern-day Tanon Straight. Due to Kaptan's love for Sinogo, Kaptan decided to retain the sacred crocodile form of Sinogo despite his treachery. The stolen shell was dropped at sea when Sinogo was struck with lightning, but a sea creature managed to relocate it and bring it back to Kaptan. Ever since, if a whirlpool appears in the straight, people believe that Sinogo is trying to break from his eternal prison deep in the straight.[9]
Media related toTañon Strait at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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