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

[gee13]

I absolutely concur with Dominic and have mentioned previously the shrimp they are feeding are not krill. Its whatever they can catch. And this form of overfishing is detrimental to the food chain as we know its UNSUSTAINABLE. There have also been incidences where cut up fish scraps have been on the menu. I guess guamrider prefers to take the higher authority to know whats best for the whalesharks through this unnatural practice. Well did you ask the sharks their opinion? And just because you have taken 3 groups over 2 years to see the feeding means you havent witnessed what goes on the other 727 days in that period.

 

[guamrider]

. I guess guamrider prefers to take the higher authority to know whats best for the whalesharks through this unnatural practice. Well did you ask the sharks their opinion? And just because you have taken 3 groups over 2 years to see the feeding means you havent witnessed what goes on the other 727 days in that period.

Gee13....No one knows what's best for the whale sharks. But I do know that there is no scientific proof yet that the sharks patterns, etc. are being effected. And, more importantly right now is that fact if they weren't feeding them they'd return to the older practices of KILLING them for food.

Although I'm certainly not a marine biologist I find it impossible to believe that these huge fish are relying only upon a tiny amount of food to survive on.

Has anyone asked the dive shops Bohol and Dumaguete why they are again taking divers and snorkelers there? Has anyone (or group) actually made any attempt to stop these visits? Has anyone (or group) treid to stop any of the "daypax" visitors, who by far outnumber the divers, from going there.

The answer is probably "no". The reality of all of this is that now a lot of people and businesses there make an income from these animals and it's not going to stop.

Seems to me we have some bizarre priorities. If no one can stop shark finning that kills thousands of sharks every year, and no one can stop the "newer" practice of killing mantas for their gills, why is there this huge commotion about 6-7 whale sharks?

 

[gee13]

No scientific proof the whalesharks migration and dietary patterns are being effected? Really? Doesnt take much evidence than the direct empirical evidence of the whalesharks hanging around oslob. If they are mainly migrating and not being affected by the feeding you wont find many hanging around. Just like 10 years ago whalesharks didnt hang around one spot in oslob. Why? Because they were naturally migrating, like they have been doing for millenia around the world.

Is there evidence that they would be finned if the 6-7 sharks were not being fed regularly at oslob? Well do you know what the penalties are for fishermen who are caught finning butanding illegaly in PI? Act 8550 is 10,000 PHP or 4 years prison plus fishing license revocation.

I believe there may have even been a recent push by congress to increase the penalties. Will this illegal pursuit continue? Maybe. However I doubt that just because for some reason the feeding practice stops; that these fishermen would simply just go out there and slaughter them for their fins instead.

Theres no "evidence" to support this claim either...

 

[Damselfish]

a web page with some history and info on the feeding - no idea of accuracy
Whale Sharks at Oslob

 

[Dominic Nuesa]

Gee13....No one knows what's best for the whale sharks.

LaMaVe is project started by Physalus, a non-profit organization, to gather information and scientific data concerning the Whale Sharks in Oslob. As far as their studies go, they have more than enough facts to give me reason to believe that the Oslob tourism is exploitative, misinformed and environmentally dangerous. Did you just totally ignore my post and still went on about your opinions?

We are scuba divers, driven and kept alive by science and studies, not opinions. You cannot opine anymore, information is out there. What's best for the Whale Sharks is already known, backed by solid evidence, made by months of studies by RESEARCHERS and VOLUNTEERS from LaMaVe. As a scuba diver, this should appeal and downright convince you.

Just like 10 years ago whalesharks didnt hang around one spot in oslob. Why? Because they were naturally migrating, like they have been doing for millenia around the world.

The Whale Sharks in Oslob haven't been migrating. That's the problem. Where did you get this?

why is there this huge commotion about 6-7 whale sharks?

Wrong, again. If I recall correctly, there are over 40 different whale sharks recorded in Oslob alone and 70 overall sightings.


Try to learn about LaMaVe and Physalus. They need all our support.

http://www.lamave.org/

 

[Centrals]

.The Whale Sharks in Oslob haven't been migrating. That's the problem. Where did you get this?

Wrong, again. If I recall correctly, there are over 40 different whale sharks recorded in Oslob alone and 70 overall sightings.


Try to learn about LaMaVe and Physalus. They need all our support.

Physalus Large Marine Vertebrate Project

If the whalesharks are NOT migrating then there should be at least 40 if NOT 70 of them swimming around in the bay.
So how many of them are actually there? And what happen to the rest of the gang?
Why don't LaMaVe tagged them and have a proper head count?

 

[Dominic Nuesa]

^That was last year. I'm sure they have an even better record now. If 40 different recorded Whale Sharks aren't proper to you, then I dont know what is.

Migration is when the animal travels to other waters to either feed, mate or give birth. Migration is NOT disappearing at 1pm then coming back for lunch the next day lol

Just because you don't see 40 sharks at the same time doesn't mean they're not regular diners. Please do your own fact finding as I have. I'm not from Physalus, I just did my homework. You should, also. I sent you their website and their contacts. You can take your own research further.

1 whale shark being exploited should be cause for alarm. If there's such a controversy, I don't even know why we're still in discussion about this. We should err on the side of caution if it's about protecting marine life, but even then, there is evidence and solid facts you can see even while snorkeling. I've already told you about this in my first post.

Even the threadstarter had put "No, do not tolerate with such uncontrolled activities" in his poll. This alone shrouds the activity in doubt.

 

[lamarpaulski]

The purists will tell you 'no.' I agree with the other poster - either the local fishermen see a value (diver tourism) or the whale sharks will probably get whacked. In fact, if the Whale Sharks are important to them the fishermen will fight tooth and nail to protect 'their' sharks. No tourism and the shark just is an oddity or even something they could harpoon and eat. Saw an ugly video of some Pakistani fisherman dragging a huge dead Whale Shark up on a wharf. I doubt they got much money for it but they looked pretty impoverished. They made a cold-blooded economic decision probably motivated by their hungry children. If that area made money from Whale Shark tours or similar they might have thought differently. This is the same dynamic playing out in much of Africa/Asia vis a vis big game. Hungry people have to see a real benefit to their bottom lines...wealthy well-fed foreign tourists can afford to take an elite purist outlook. I also saw this in parts of Fiji where people were cutting back on killing Mantas and turtles as dive tourist dollars were coming in to these same locals to see what heretofore were delicacies (mantas were called cows due to their horns).

The other dynamic is the Sea World effect...the more people thrilled to see a living Whale Shark (kinda cute) the more likely that political pressure will exist for their preservation. Frankly, to be a pure purist we shouldn't travel or eat meat etc..reproduce ? breath ? Its gotten to be some kind of holier than thou religion for TRUE BELIEVERS. Sharks also seem (to me) to have pretty basic hard-wired instincts and I wonder if there is much long-term damage from inter-acting with fishermen/divers.

PS: I've never seen a Whale Shark but would like to in either the purist scenario (preferable) or as a tourist.

hey guys, I am planning to do some whale shark diving at Oslob but another part of me is telling me not to do it, since there are quite some disputes on whale shark activities at Oslob, it will be supporting such activities by enrolling in it.

I am just wondering what you all think about it - to do or not to do it?
Well the feeding isn't bothering me much as there is not proven fact that the feeding is bad for the whale sharks however the touching does bother me.

 

[Centrals]

^That was last year. I'm sure they have an even better record now. If 40 different recorded Whale Sharks aren't proper to you, then I dont know what is.

Migration is when the animal travels to other waters to either feed, mate or give birth. Migration is NOT disappearing at 1pm then coming back for lunch the next day lol

Just because you don't see 40 sharks at the same time doesn't mean they're not regular diners. Please do your own fact finding as I have. I'm not from Physalus, I just did my homework. You should, also. I sent you their website and their contacts. You can take your own research further.

If there are over 40 whalesharks congregating around Oslob, the local fishermen would have to import tons of food EVERYDAY.
"Migrating is NOT disappearing at 1pm then coming back for lunch the next day"........How many of them turn up everyday? All of them or they just work out a plan among themselves and turn up accordingly so as NOT to burden the local!! Very smark animals indeed.

 

[Dominic Nuesa]

If there are over 40 whalesharks congregating around Oslob, the local fishermen would have to import tons of food EVERYDAY.
"Migrating is NOT disappearing at 1pm then coming back for lunch the next day"........How many of them turn up everyday? All of them or they just work out a plan among themselves and turn up accordingly so as NOT to burden the local!! Very smark animals indeed.

Sarcasm will get you nowhere, buddy. Science will, though. The fishermen ARE burdened, that's why they get frozen food from different Philippine waters. That's TWO levels of ecosystem being exploited. I already explained this in my first post. On average you have 15 whale sharks per day, with 40-70 different whale sharks sighted over the course of two years.

The math adds up. You should, too.