DONSOL, Philippines: For such enormous creatures, whale sharks tend not to reveal much of themselves. They know how to hide. It is one the ...
DONSOL, Philippines: For such enormous creatures, whale sharks tend not to reveal much of themselves. They know how to hide.Waters around Donsol in southern Luzon in the Philippines are where many whale sharks reveal themselves, underwater foragers drawn from the depths towards where fishermen eye smaller catches.
“The first time I saw a whale shark was when I was seven years old. A friend invited me to catch fish that day. When we saw it, we screamed,” he said.He knows about them now. Amanse is the president of the group charged with the guardianship of the creatures, known as buntanding in the Philippines. The Buntanding Interaction Officers Association is a motley collection of local men who have helped carve out a tourism business on the backs of their visiting marine friends.
Locals have been forced to garner new skills in the increasingly challenging effort to showcase the wildlife that people now travel from across the world to witness. “Initially it was a traditional fishery to serve the local markets but somehow it became this exportable thing. They were shipping out fresh meat to Taiwan. It was developing into a big business,” he said.
It was a milestone moment, beyond the hopes of what WWF was calling for. And according to Amanse, the ruling came just in time. The number of whale shark sightings in Donsol is on a dramatic slide. During the 2018 season, the number of individual fish encountered fell to just 46. In comparison, that number was 211 in 2009.
“These are migratory animals so they’re used to roaming around but in the other place they stay there because there’s food for them. The nature of being migratory is gone for some whale sharks,” said Manul Narvadez, WWF Donsol’s project manager. Out on the water, the pursuit of the sharks has become desperate. “No-one is following the rules,” says Alan Amanse.
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