Author Topic: Will whale sharks come back to Donsol?  (Read 524 times)

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Will whale sharks come back to Donsol?
« on: February 25, 2017, 07:01:11 PM »
Will whale sharks come back to Donsol?
By Natasha Vizcarra
June 1, 1998 - Philippine Daily Inquirer

IT'S time for the whale sharks to leave Donsol, Sorsogon. And it's probably just as well.

Last month saw a chaotic first season of whale shark-watching in the remote town. This may well discourage the giant fish from feeding in Donsol's waters in the years to come, said a marine biologist from the World Wildlife Fund-Philippines.

``Magulo (chaotic),'' was how Pet Digdigan assessed the recent boom in whale shark watching in the town--now known as a major feeding ground of the one of the largest schools of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus, locally known as butanding) ever to be observed.

``Too many boats go after the whale sharks. This startles them and disrupts their habitat,'' she said. ``In Australia, whale shark watchers follow a one shark-one boat policy to best observe a whale shark while it is feeding,'' she added.

Digdigan, the assistant project manager for whale sharks in WWF-Philippines, said that on May 1 she saw 20 boats full of snorkelers and tourists going after one whale shark.

Two of the boats even collided with each other. Fortunately, neither boat was damaged.

That same day, one boat almost ran over a snorkeler. ``We saw it,'' she said. ``We shouted `huy, huy, may naglalangoy (somebody is swimming)!''' Fortunately again, the boat missed the snorkeler.

But luck may not be there next whale shark-watching season (December-May), if boatmen and tourists keep on with their ways with the whale sharks.

Digdigan said she had monitored a lot of other no-nos:

Boatmen don't turn off their motors when they get near the whale sharks and they sometimes cut across a whale shark's path.
Snorkelers and divers jump and make a big splash instead of easing themselves into the water (Sound travels four times faster in water than in air and all this splashing startles the whale sharks).
Tourists scream their heads off when they get their first glimpse of the gentle giants of the sea.
This writer even encountered a so-called butanding interaction officer--also known as BIOman--who encouraged her to touch the whale shark, one of the don'ts in whale shark interaction.
A BIOman is the local tourism term for an experienced diver who is familiar enough with the whale sharks to guide snorkelers and divers when swimming with the whale shark.

Largest fish

The whale shark is the largest of living fish with adults from 30 feet long to about twice that size and weighing up to 11 tons.

Although it is technically a shark, this species is harmless and has tiny baleen teeth instead of razor sharp teeth. It feeds by sucking in plankton, krill and small fish. Donsol fishermen say whale sharks have been returning each year to feed in their waters.

Donsol's waters are rich in plankton and krill--the whale sharks' staple food--from the month of December to May and that's when these great big fish are sighted here.

Two months ago, several whale sharks were reported slaughtered in Donsol and nearby Pilar town. This drew President Ramos' attention. Agriculture Secretary Salvador Escudero later issued an administrative order making it unlawful to catch, sell, purchase, possess, transport and export whale sharks.

The Sangguniang Bayan of Donsol also declared its waters a whale sanctuary. Under the law, violators will be fined not less than P500 and not more than P5,000 and/or imprisonment from six months to four years.

Whale shark capital

``We could be known as the new capital of whale shark tours, but all trips have to be very organized,'' Digdigan said.

Boatmen, BIOmen and tour operators still need to be educated in whale shark biology. And they, in turn, need to educate the tourists.

All this preparation and orientation is crucial because we are dealing with one of the best things that has ever happened to the Philippines--no other country in the world can boast of whale shark sightings as numerous as in Donsol.

``We have to take care of the whale sharks and we have to respect them,'' Digdigan said.

Donsol's municipal tourism council has started to take whale shark conservation more seriously. Of all the boats offering whale shark watching tours in Sorsogon, only six boats are registered with the municipal tourism council's Butanding Interaction Group. These means their operators have been given an orientation on how to approach whale sharks.

``Our dream is for Donsol to develop the capacity to be a responsible whale shark capital of the world,'' Digdigan said.

There are six months more until the whale sharks come back.

Hopefully, they'll find Donsol a more peaceful place to dine by then.

(No whale shark has been sighted in Donsol since May 22 with the onset of the rainy season.

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