Statues of Our Lady of Danajon and Sto. Niño explained

Statues of Our Lady of Danajon and Santo Niño refer to the Virgin Mary and Holy Child (Jesus Christ) respectively. Such statues were placed underwater in 2010 to stop dynamite fishing in the Danajon Bank, a double barrier reef.

Blast fishing was common in Danajon Bank, leading to destruction of the endangered coral reef—one of only six double barrier reefs in the world. The Bien Unido government and SeaKnights organization placed large statues of the Virgin Mary and Holy Child near the reef in 2010, hoping that the catholicism of the fishermen would prevent potentially harming the statues, thus stopping dynamite fishing. This was successful; these fishing techniques were substantially reduced.^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ingenious Marine Conservation Project; Religious Icons Protect Double Reef . 2022-09-07 . Cebu-Philippines.Net.
2. Web site: Praying underwater in Bohol . ABS-CBN News.
3. Web site: 2012-09-28 . Virgin Mary and Sto. Niño 'guard' coral reef . 2022-09-07 . Save the Philippine Coral Reefs . en.
4. Web site: The Bien Unido Double Barrier Reef Dive Site- the Underwater Grotto Shrine . 2022-09-07 . perma.cc . en-us.
5. Web site: 2022-06-14 . Divers filmed Virgin Mary statue after it was installed by Philippine authorities in 2010 . 2022-09-07 . Fact Check . en.
6. News: Could a statue halt dynamite fishing? . en-GB . BBC News . 2022-09-07.
7. Web site: 2012-09-07 . The 1st underwater Pilgrimage at the Bien Unido Double Barrier Reef Marine Park . CCEF . 2022-09-07 . en-US.
8. Web site: 2016-06-27 . 2 Mysterious Statues in the Philippines You Can Only See Underwater . 2022-09-07 . Tourist Spots Finder . en-US.