Moalboal Cebu sardines in August 25, 2012 time range

[rjjj111]

Does anyone know if the sardines will be in Moalboal around August 25 time range?

Someone told me the sardines come and go from the area.

Please let me know...........thanks.

 

[Hydreliox]

I notice you have asked a similar question on another thread about Oslob.

It is pretty impossible to say if the sardines or whalesharks will be there on or around August 25th

If they keep feeding the whalesharks, then I guess they will still be there. As for the sardines (are they actually sardines?) I wouldn't know how 'seasonal' they are.

Either way I wouldn't plan your trip on them being there or not. Pick the spots you want to dive in, and maybe you will get lucky at the time. It might be worth asking the question a few days, or a week in advance of your arrival for more up to date information. I would guess that nobody would like to commit to giving you a definite yes or no answer though.

For the whale sharks sake, I would really reconsider diving with them. By chance, hey it's a nice thing to see, but with the crowding that happens at Oslob and feeding, I just can't support the operation. Just my 2 pence, and maybe it has changed recently.

Good luck, and I hope you see what you are heading this way for.

 

[rjjj111]

Actually i have been to moalboal twice already and enjoyed the sardines very much. i chatted with someone who worked at resort in moalboal a few months ago and they told me, the sardines were gone right now? i did not know they were seasonal and i had thought the sardines were always there? it was the first time i ever heard about the sardines coming and going in moalboal. i do also plan to go to oslob. i have snorkled with the butanging twice already in donsol on 2 different trips. i did want to scuba dive with them, if possible this coming august. i thought they just started feeding the butanging at oslob, and i was curious if they were still feeding them at oslob so that the butanding were still staying at oslob or not? so im just curious about things there before i come in august 2012.

 

[iDreamOfBubbles]

Actually i have been to moalboal twice already and enjoyed the sardines very much. i chatted with someone who worked at resort in moalboal a few months ago and they told me, the sardines were gone right now? i did not know they were seasonal and i had thought the sardines were always there? it was the first time i ever heard about the sardines coming and going in moalboal. i do also plan to go to oslob. i have snorkled with the butanging twice already in donsol on 2 different trips. i did want to scuba dive with them, if possible this coming august. i thought they just started feeding the butanging at oslob, and i was curious if they were still feeding them at oslob so that the butanding were still staying at oslob or not? so im just curious about things there before i come in august 2012.

I do not believe that it is a seasonal change, although if anybody else knows differently, please correct me, but apparently the sardines are no longer in Moalboal. I read somewhere on this board that they have reappeared in Mactan, although not in the same numbers that were present in Moalboal. Who knows though, perhaps they will return to Moalboal in August, it's impossible to predict.

I'm not sure if you've read anything on the whale sharks at Oslob, but there has been quite a lot of controversy. Just by browsing this board, you are sure to come up with multiple threads about the "circus", or "zoo", as it is commonly referred to. The local fishermen do feed them, and they are still there, but there are no rules or guidelines about snorkeling with them, touching them, or even the number of people that are allowed to be in the water with them at a certain time. I've read that many of the operators in Cebu and Dumaguete/Dauin are refusing to organize trips there until the locals clean up their act. As Hydreliox said, for the safety of the whale sharks, I would not go to Oslob and support the mistreatment of such graceful animals. It has been a huge boom for the local economy of Oslob, and of course the local operators and fishermen do not mean to mistreat the whale sharks, they just simply don't know any better.

Here are some pictures of the whale sharks in Oslob:

Also, read this blog post by Liquid Dumaguete, explaining some of their reasoning for discontinuing snorkeling trips to Oslob: Whale Sharks in Oslob | Project AWARE

I hope you enjoy your travels this summer, and that diving in the Visayas meets your expectations.

 

[rjjj111]

@iDremaOfBubbles

I had no idea this was going on. as I mentioned, I have been to donsol twice already and in general do like the way they handle the interaction there in donsol. the pictures you send me are crazy and it does bother me that people do these type of things to the butandings. also I did not realize the sardines had really left altogether from the sound of things. I guess I should now feel very lucky to experience scuba diving in the school several times on 2 different trips to moalboal. now I am not sure I will even go to moalboal if the sardines are not there. I will really need to think about this now. I planned to hit moalboal and then oslob as well, being they were so close together. well that is why I am online posting questions now. better to know now instead of going to moalboal or oslob and being disappointed. now I am not sure what to do?

 

[gee13]

I agree with hydrelox and idreamofbubbles on the subject of whaleshark mismanagement in oslob. Apart from the 'sensationalised' photos that you see there lies an undercurrent with far greater environmental impact - apart from the mistreatment and alteration of the resident sharks instinctual habits oslob now faces pollution from rubbish bi-products resulting from the lack of regulated tourism.. and lack of enforcements of basic conduct around the sharks ie..touching, chasing.. anyway what is the value of seeing whalesharks..if not able to have the anticipation of finding one in the wild...or be able to witness them in their natural environment and their innate filter feeding behaviour.

 

[Centrals]

I had no idea this was going on......... now I am not sure what to do?

Camiguin, Coron, General Santos, Malapascua and Southern Leyte etc etc.

 

[gee13]

Dauin, Bohol, Cabilao, Siquijor, Tubbataha, Palawan, Anilao, Puerto Gallera etc etc

 

[Centrals]

Dauin, Bohol, Cabilao, Siquijor, Tubbataha, Palawan, Anilao, Puerto Gallera etc etc

Not possible to Tubataha in Aug.

 

[gee13]

Good Point... especially on the 25 th...