If you’ve ever wanted to swim along with whale sharks yet weren’t sure if it’s an eco-friendly idea or not, then this guide is for you.
When I heard about the opportunity to swim along with whale sharks in Oslob, Philippines, I decided to do a little digging online to see if it really was such a good idea to be cavorting along with the largest fish (the “whale” in its name is purely due to its gargantuan size) in the world. I couldn’t discover much information, yet the guide at the top of a Google search on the subject was one titled “5 Reasons Not to Swim along with Whale Sharks in Oslob“, which pointed to the environmental impact swimming along with the sharks has. So far, so concerning.
The guide outlined how the current Oslob whale shark tourism adversely affects the animals’ migration, nutrition, and overall health. Published on a dive site blog, the guide likewise encouraged people not to swim along with whale sharks because they can easily merely as easily be observed scuba diving, which does not involve baiting the whale sharks along with krill.
Okay, I was convinced–I certainly was not going to swim along with whale sharks! Environmentally un-friendly, bad for the sharks, and a lose-shed situation for all.
But wait a minute! Is all this true? And exactly what if we could improve or eliminate those problems? Then might it be okay to swim along with whale sharks?
I decided to talk along with people that had been to Oslob and had swum along with the prodigious butanding, as they are known in the local lingo. These people’s attitudes and experiences were rather different from the decidedly condescending tone of the aforementioned article. “The whole process is fairly tightly controlled,” said Sue Woods, co-author of “Cruising the Philippines” that has actually swam along with the behemoths in Oslob twice and encouraged me to go. “There’s likewise a mandatory 15-minute presentation telling you how to behave around the sharks before you leave shore.” Others people I talked to said it was one of the most effective points they’d ever done and that they now respected the creatures even more. It all sounded rather impressive.
I mulled it over for some time before finally deciding that I must not impugn the practice based on reading merely one article. After all, we all tend to be a bit too credulous when we hear about claims on the internet. Besides, during my research I’d likewise found out that whale sharks contribute to ecotourism in Thailand, South Africa, Maldives and Seychelles as well.
I realized that I had to experience the whale sharks—sitting through the instructional presentation and actually taking part in one of the tours—to decide for myself. And hopefully, by writing about my experience, I could encourage a more edifying discussion of the troubles as well as inform people about exactly what to expect must they decide to do it themselves.
▼ Whale shark size compared to man.
I’ll enumerate the concerns regarding the impact on the docile sharks, yet very first let’s look at a little background of these “data deficient” giants of the marine kingdom that we know quite little about.
The whale sharks have actually been a protected species in the Philippines since 1998. Before that it was slaughtered for food, oil and Others uses. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the whale shark as a “vulnerable” species and domestically they are protected by FAO 193 that prohibits the killing and the selling of whale sharks, RA 8550/Philippine Fishery Code of 1998 Sec. 11 and 97 Protection and Prohibition banning the catching (or collection) of rare, threatened and endangered species, and the RA 9147/Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act.
The iconic fish is even featured on the Philippine 100-peso bill (about US$3), despite the fact that this is a recent introduction due in part to the burgeoning whale shark eco-tourism industry.
Getting to Oslob
Oslob is in the southern part of the Philippine island of Cebu. To get there, you embark from the Cebu City South Terminal on an air-conditioned bus for the four-hour ride to Oslob. Cebu is a big, dirty city begging for a paint job yet the scenery soon changes to tropical rolling hills, palm trees and baby goats braying alongside the road. By the time you get to Oslob, you’ll feel relaxed by the abundant greenery and somnolent pace of life.
Cebu island is one of the several islands in the Philippines renowned for scuba diving. Dive resorts and hotels are sprinkled along the sandy Oslob coast. The pristine waters are due in fantastic part to not merely the diversity of sea life and the fact that much of it is marine protected area, yet likewise because the coasts have actually been spared industrialization. While the Philippines as a country might be behind the made globe in aspects such as garbage disposal and waste management, they must be commended for not having polluted their waters through unbridled development and industrialization and for protecting their marine life.
Oslob, a municipality of around 30,000 people, is an idyllic part of the globe where children play in the fields very than inside and adults interact along with each Others without the aid of smartphones. It’s the natural life people in our own countries used to live not so long ago. While one of the charms of visiting such places is the nostalgic, pure method of life, the poverty in Oslob is likewise glaring. There’s a good reason people aren’t bent over looking at smartphones all day–they can’t afford to buy them.
▼ The big bus dropped us off at one of the several dive resorts in Oslob.
From the dive resort, we were transported to the location of the whale shark activities. It’s worth noting that here they do not advertise “swimming along with whale sharks” yet very “whale (shark) watching.”
At the whale shark center, before registering and paying 1,100 pesos (US$23) we were told to not wear sunscreen (and to wash it off if already applied) as the sharks are sensitive to these chemicals.
Introductory Talk
There were two sign boards that briefly explained different aspects of the sharks, their feeding and breeding habits.
During the talk, we were warned not to use flash photography, not to touch the whale sharks, not to feed them or throw trash into the water, and to stay four meters away from the sharks at all times. Failure to follow the rules included punitive measures, including a great of up to US$2,500 or up to six months’ imprisonment for touching one of the mammoths.
On to the feeding grounds
Life jackets and snorkeling equipment were then distributed and we piled into man-powered bangka boats that held four to six people each.
▼ Bangka are wooden outrigger boats.
Once at the feeding ground, merely off shore, the boats floated in a line next to a border rope that kept them all together. We had merely 30 minutes to watch the sharks so were in the water immediately while the guides waited in the boats.
▼Snorkelers in the water.
Feeding
And as soon as we were submerged, I saw an enormous mouth more than half my size headed straight towards me!
But luckily, these guys are much less interested in human sashimi and prefer plankton and krill, which are small enough for them to filter through their mouths. The sharks skim along the surface of the water taking in plankton and small fish. This likewise makes them vulnerable to oil spills and Others man-made detritus that floats around in the sea. The sharks went about their voracious feeding impervious to the excited paparazzi tourists on the sidelines.
▼ Swallowing krill
After the jumbo fish has actually ram-fed his mouth along with as much meals as possible, he expels the excess water out through his gills and swallows the rest.
▼ Gills
One reason whale shark watching in Oslob is controversial is because they lure the sharks to the feeding grounds (and tourists) along with krill. This artificial feeding affects their migration patterns as the animals have actually decided that free feedings are a fairly good gig and some are even over-staying their normal stopover time in Oslob while en route to more fertile feeding grounds such as the western coast of Australia. This may adversely affect their diet and health.
According the Shark Research Institute, a study revealed that whale sharks spend up to seven-and-a-half hours per day consuming and that a juvenile whale shark (six meters long or 19.7 feet) eats 21 kilograms (46 pounds) of plankton per day. That’s one corpulent appetite for a young whale shark! So you can easily imagine how much a larger shark–some are said to measure up to 18 meters (59 feet) long–would certainly eat!
And we’re only talking one shark, so while there might be a dozen or so sharks being fed snacks in the mornings at Oslob (feeding ends by early morning), even those sharks still have actually to discover their own lunch and dinner.
▼By tossing the krill up and down this rope line, the sharks swim back and forth right past the snorkelers.
The good news is that we can easily control the consuming habits of sharks by having a whale shark watching season and enforcing it. The sharks come because they receive food, so it goes to say that they will certainly not hang out quite long if their meals supply is cut short or cut off completely.
Migration
Cebu Island is merely one of the parts of the Philippines the whale sharks pass through during their migrations. They likewise pass through Donsol (Luzon), and Leyte where I hear they don’t feed the sharks at all. I spoke along with some Americans that suffered whale shark watching in Leyte that told me that, because they don’t feed the sharks, there is no guarantee you’ll see them, so this couple only saw the sharks on their third trip. yet they were still thrilled to spot them. This appears reasonable to me and might be a good compromise very than baiting them along with krill.
▼ Whale sharks cross oceans in their migrations and gather in areas of high meals density.
Touching the sharks
I didn’t see anyone touch the sharks during my swim, yet I did have actually a juvenile shark touch me along with his soft rubbery tail as I was scrambling frantically to get from his way. Yet another person in my group later told me the same thing happened to him—it seemed impossible to stay four meters away from the titanic fish because the employees feeding the sharks were throwing the krill quite close to the swimmers. Having the feeding boats further away could have actually easily prevented this.
The guides serve as sentinels and make sure the tourists don’t swim too far away from the boat and interfere along with the activity of the whale sharks, yet if the shark is coming towards you, there is little you can easily do.
▼ Our guide used his whistle to get our attention once when we drifted too far away.
Another fear of feeding sharks from the boats is that they will certainly associate all boats along with food. Approaching shark-hunting boats or boats along with propellers, for example, is dangerous to the whale sharks.
I understand that the leviathans do approach boats (whether they associate boats along with meals or not). My experience as a sailor is that any kind of boat is cause for curiosity among marine life. It is not unusual to be cutting quietly through open waters under full sail and to be visited by pods of dolphins or groups of whales. several sailors feel that the danger of hitting whales and Others large marine life has actually increased since whales and Others species are no longer hunted and the seas are becoming more populated. Nonetheless, one of the joys of sailing is to experience marine creatures in their natural environments.
Research
Although whale sharks travel all around the globe they are nonetheless clandestine animals which we know little about. No one knows, for example, exactly what exactly their breeding habits are and we estimate they might live for around 70 years. Recent findings show that only in the past decade or so have actually we understood the consuming habits of these gigantic sharks.
▼ Each whale shark has actually a unique pattern. Researchers use these patterns to identify individuals.
But there are organizations studying them. One of them is LAMAVE (Large Marine Vertebrates Project Philippines) that has actually a base in Oslob.
▼ A sign is posted for those that wish to tips researchers.
Having the option to tips along with the research is fairly cool. And if you locate that you really loved your whale shark watching experience, you might want to think of volunteering for this organization.
Pros of Whale Shark Watching
Now that we’ve talked about the cons of whale shark watching, let’s look at exactly what possible good that might come from this experience for the sharks as well as the people.
While I’ve read that the opportunity to observe these immense fish is causing a tourist boom, in Oslob it is still a fledgling trade. They need to train their guides much better and they need to enforce the rules when they’re broken. When I asked our guide how several people worked along with the whale sharks here, he told us that over 200 local residents are employed to run the operation. The entire process entails non-motorized, handmade wooden boats rowed by local people that take tourists out that then quietly sink below the surface of the water to watch the portly beasts swim by. Even children can easily see the whale sharks in Oslob.
I’ve heard foreigners in Japan complain that several Japanese kids have actually never seen a real farm animal. It’s true, most Japanese children don’t see animals until they land on their dinner plate. Even in western countries kids can easily go to petting zoos, where they can easily touch and interact along with cows, goats and chickens. Making that physical connection is really important, not for the animals yet for the kids. By physically connecting, they learn compassion and respect for the animals which they will certainly hopefully carry into adulthood.
But marine life is difficult to observe and create compassion for mainly because we cannot see exactly what is below the surface. This has actually resulted in the utter destruction of fish stocks, reefs and a plethora of marine species.
Aquariums attempt to bring this experience to people. Whale sharks can easily be observed in aquariums in Japan, the US and China. yet imagine the pressure caused to these animals merely by transporting them around the world. think of the cost. Once at the aquarium, the sharks are in captivity for the rest of their lives swimming around in a pool the size of a rain drop compared to the open sea. Needless to say, migration and breeding are not even options. So maybe, merely maybe, it’s much better to encourage people to observe these animals in their own natural environments.
In Oslob the whale sharks are in their natural environments and can easily leave if they please. There are no barriers, no construction of aquariums, no water transported, no electricity used, no resources wasted. No motorboat has actually even polluted the waters. Their carbon footprint is quite small.
While I agree that it ought to be even more fascinating to witness these colossal creatures in the wild by scuba diving, diving is a niche sport that is expensive, quite technical and excludes children. Snorkeling is far more accessible for anyone along with an interest in marine life, including domestic Filipino tourists that frequent Oslob to observe their countries’ protected species. Increasing awareness of whale sharks through human interaction along with them may have actually more impact on their survival than insisting that people ignore them, thus allowing them to remain indifferent to the issues.
And merely as important, the local population that used to hunt and kill the sharks is not only learning to value them, yet has actually a vested interest in protecting them now. They have actually developed something they can easily make a living from and be proud of. No, it’s not perfect yet, they still have actually a long method to go, yet they will certainly get there if we allow them the opportunity to grow their understanding of whale sharks, tourism and the limits of both. And hopefully, they’ll even be able to purchase smartphones some day.
Recommending that people don’t go whale shark watching may not tips the sharks either. Informing people, discussing the troubles along with them, and enlisting their tips will. After all, believe of how much you’ve merely learned about whale sharks from one person that did go?
Top image: Wikipedia (Zac Wolf, modified by Stefan)
All photos copyright Amy Chavez/RocketNews24 unless otherwise noted.
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