Tañon Strait lies between the islands of Negros and Cebu

Cebu Island

Cebu is an island of the Philippines. It is the main island of Cebu Province at the center of the Visayan Islands, south of Manila.It lies to the east of Negros Island; to the east is Leyte and to the southeast is Bohol Island. It is flanked on both sides by the Cebu Strait and Tañon Strait...

 in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. The strait

Strait

A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...

 connects the Visayan Sea

Visayan Sea

The Visayan Sea is a sea in the Philippines, surrounded by the islands of the Visayas, Eastern Visayas and Western Visayas located to the east and west, while the Central Visayas is located to the south...

 to the Bohol Sea

Bohol Sea

The Bohol Sea, also called the Mindanao Sea, is located between Visayas and Mindanao in the Philippines. It lies south of Bohol and Leyte and north of Mindanao...

.

The Tañon Strait is known for whale and dolphin watching, with tour boats operating from a wharf in Bais City

Bais City

Bais City is a 2nd class city in the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it had a population of 74,702 people in more than 13,199 households...

.

Controversy

On February 7, 2008 the Supreme Court of the Philippines

Supreme Court of the Philippines

The Supreme Court of the Philippines is the Philippines' highest judicial court, as well as the court of last resort. The court consists of 14 Associate Justices and 1 Chief Justice...

 ordered the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Energy to comment on a certiorari petition filed for toothed whales, dolphins, porpoises and other cetacean species in the Tañon Strait to stop oil exploration

Oil exploration

Hydrocarbon exploration is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits beneath the Earth's surface, such as oil and natural gas...

 by Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. (JAPEX

JAPEX

is a hydrocarbon exploration, production and transportation company. JAPEX explores and produces crude oil, natural gas and liquefied natural gas reserves worldwide. JAPEX has proven reserves of 272 million barrels in Japan and the rest of the world. Aside from operations in Hokkaido, Akita,...

) in the protected waterway

Waterway

A waterway is any navigable body of water. Waterways can include rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, and canals. In order for a waterway to be navigable, it must meet several criteria:...

. The strait

Strait

A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...

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.