Ticao Pass is the
strait
A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...
that separates
Ticao Island
Ticao Island is an island with a total land area of . It is one of the three major islands of Masbate province in the Philippines. It is separated from the Bicol Peninsula by the Ticao Pass. The other two major islands are Masbate Island () and B ...
from the
Bicol Peninsula
Bicol, known formally as the Bicol Region or colloquially as Bicolandia ( bcl, Rehiyon kan Bikol; Rinconada Bikol: ''Rehiyon ka Bikol''; Waray Sorsogon, Masbateño: ''Rehiyon san Bikol''; tl, Rehiyon ng Bikol), is an administrative region of ...
in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. It connects the
Burias Pass
Burias Pass is the strait that separates Burias Island from the Bicol Peninsula in the Philippines. It connects the Ragay Gulf in the north with the Ticao Pass and Samar Sea in the south. It is considered a very important biodiversity area of the ...
in the north with the
Samar Sea
The Samar Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, situated between the Bicol Region of Luzon and the Eastern Visayas.
It is bordered by the islands of Samar to the east, Leyte to the south, Masbate to the west, and Luzon to the nort ...
in the south.
Along with the Burias Pass, the waters of the Ticao Pass are proposed to become a
Marine Protected Area
Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conserv ...
. It is home to a large marine diversity, but it also suffers from massive
overfishing
Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in th ...
and poaching, as well as destructive
blast fishing
Blast fishing, fish bombing, dynamite fishing or grenade fishing is a destructive fishing practice using explosives to stun or kill schools of fish for easy collection. This often illegal practice is extremely destructive to the surrounding ec ...
.
References
Straits of the Philippines
Bicol Region
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