Oslob whale shark - to do or NOT do it!?

[supergaijin]

There are places to see WS in the Phils without resorting to the 'freak show' of Oslob. While some operators may respect the shark in terms of a 'no-touch' policy, the individuals will not refrain from grabbing the sharks when they see others doing the same. Monkey see, monkey do.

 

[Joe Cool]

That's nonsense and a pathetic excuse. Other places protect whale sharks and organise whale shark watching without feeding and taming the sharks. Over 100 different whale sharks have been identified at Oslob in the past 12 months, compared with over 400 at Donsol in the past 6 years. So a huge proportion of the whale sharks seen in Philippine waters are affected by what's happening at Oslob.

What you say is true (i.e., nonsense and pathetic excuse) if Oslob is a known Whale Shark congregation area like Donsol or Souther Leyte. In this case, it is not. So, to guaranteee Whale Shark sightings, the locals started to hand-feed them. Think about it...hand-feed them or fin them? Which one is the lesser evil? Before you answer, please remember that strict enforcement of anything won't happen. They can't even stop Whale Shark finning incidents in Anilao which has a good 'Bantay-Dagat' presence.

 

[BDSC]

I just did that dive about a month ago. We were staying at one of the Atlantis resorts. We did not use scuba gear but just had a mask, fins, and snorkel. They made a point at the briefing to emphasize not to touch and in the area I was in, I never saw anyone touch a whaleshark. There were a few divers below and I never saw them touch as well. I'm not sure but I would guess there were 5 or 6 "boatmen" that were feeding the sharks. The whalesharks followed them around while they dished out a few shrimp or what looked like small shrimp. They were almost eating from their hand.

The one concern that I heard expressed is that since this activity has been going on, people have noticed that they are seeing more whalesharks with what looks like injuries from props. The idea being that the whalesharks are associating boats with food and are approaching boats that have props and are being hit.Some resorts have discontinued going there but others still do.

I have seen a whaleshark "in the wild" so to speak and that experience was much more rewarding than going to the feed at Oslob. It really has a touristy feel to it. I can see why folks do it if they have never seen one but having done it, I would not do it again.

 

[Tippytoes12]

I went to Oslob in February , feeling secretly guilty about even being there , but I really enjoyed the experience. We dived very early in the morning with 5 animals. There were only 6 or 7 divers in the water and a few snorkellers and there was definitely no touching , in fact everybody behaved extremely well .We spent an hour up close and personal with these 5 whalesharks and there were definitely no marks whatsoever on their fins or bodies. In, fact they looked pretty happy and for me this was an amazing experience.

Local helpers did up our gear and took it into the water for us without being asked. I had a good chat with the first man and a longer one with the second who helped me out. Both said emphatically that their work with the visitors is a job that they would not have otherwise and helped them feed their families. There was no hassle with vendors and the helpers disappeared before anybody had a chance to tip them.

It is easy for us to say what should or should not happen in very poor parts of the world , but there are scarily few fish in many areas of the Philippines and why would the whalesharks not suffer a similar fate if the local people did not get some very small incentive to protect them?

However I totally accept and respect the opinions of marine biologists and others who say that this feeding may interfere with migratory patterns and that of course how will a whaleshark tell if a boat is a bangka with its frilly breakfast followed by its adoring public or a spotter from a shark finning mega boat ?

In many instances tourism whilst far from ideal does help preserve wildlife ...Mountain Gorillas in Central Africa , big cats in East Africa , even perhaps tigers in India ?

 

[Centrals]

This remind me a similar article by National Grographic on manatee in USA. There is no solution to keep everyone happy. But no one has ever consulted the manatees for their opinions.

 

[gee13]

Part of the other issue apart from behavioural deviation for the WS is the food that is fed, if they dont have brine shrimp this can be replaced by cut up stingray, fish scraps etc.. deviating from the natural krill diet. Whether good and bad this just raises another concern about the bi-effect of this form of tourism.

 

[Rogersea]

I have seen whale sharks in the wild many times and it never gets old.... I have never dived with the Whalesharks in Oslob because I have a fundamental problem with feeding wild animals because it usually results in something bad happening....


However, I have lived on the island of Cebu for several years(since the Oslob Whale Shark show began) and they have made great strides to protect the Whale Sharks from abuses like we saw at the beginning. I am confident that they are enforcing a no touch policy and the crazy crowds that Gee13 mentioned has been dealt with, but I am still not going to go....

I did send some of my customers to Oslob and I used the folks at Aaron Beach Resort I used them after going to Oslob to discuss the operations with several of the operators.

 

[gee13]

I also applaud operators such as Liquid in Dauin who have boycotted day trips to Oslob. More should do the same.

 

[guamrider]

Does anyone REALLY think that the very small amt of krill that the banka boat owners are feeding the sharks is going to change their entire life cycle? It's like an elephant eating an ice cream cone. There is no way they could survive over the years by just the food they are fed. You gotta be kidding.

I just returned from there and have brought 3 groups to see them over the past two years. A few things have definitely changed.

The prices went up dramatically, the rules stiffened and enforced, and they only fee them from 7-1pm. I watched two of the underwater "shark police" go up to divers who were going to be a little too close to the path that the sharks were going to take and move them out of the way. Among a dozen or so snorkelers I never saw one person touch the or harass them.

Almost all of the dive shops in Bohol and Dumaguete that banned going there now do it again.

Here's a video of our trip two weeks ago showing the terrible "mistreatment" of the animals by divers. I know I'm being sarcastic but until there is scientific proof that their life cycle is being altered, go see them. It's a rare treat and it's a helluva lot better than how they used to be treated there.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Some one mentioned Don Sol as being a reasonable place to see them. If it hasn't changed THAT place is a joke. Where else can you see up to 12 banka boats filled with wanna-be snorkelers chasing one whale shark. And as soon as they get close everyone jumps in the water and tries to chase it! It's totally out of control. Sure hope it's changed.

 

[Dominic Nuesa]

You don't need evidence of an abnormal life cycle (which would take a funded project just following the animals around) to prove that the feeding is harmful to the animals.

The immediate effects on the animals are obvious, you just have to look with your own two eyes. On the very skin of the issue (pardon the pun), the sharks have skin discolorations around their mouths. These are sores caused by the little boats hitting them while they feed. You can also see yellow, green, and blue boat paints rubbed on the skin of the animals.

On another level, the shrimp they are feeding the sharks are OVERFISHED. They ran out of shrimp locally, so they're buying dead shrimp from other provinces, some about 11 hours away. Nobody knows what would happen if you feed iced, dead, decaying shrimp to a whole colony of Whale Sharks. Would you really take that risk? Can you also imagine what would happen if a whole level of the eco system just vanished just to sustain this feeding program?

Finally, the sharks are getting used to boats. The boats in Oslob don't have propellers, sure. But these sharks have been trained that boats = food, so after feeding, these sharks go to places where boats HAVE propellers and this is what can happen :

This is Fermin, one of the first few sharks to be fed in Oslob.

Just don't do it.