Oslob advised to consult experts
OSLOB town officials should continue to monitor the practice of feeding whale sharks and engage experts to study whether the tourist activity harms the sea creatures, an official of the Department of Tourism said.
Assistant Secretary Benito Bengzon, Jr. who spoke in yesterday’s Cebu Tourism Congress at Marco Polo Plaza, said it is important for DOT to an have evaluation by experts over a longer period of time. “They (experts) will be in the best position whether or not feeding is harmful to the whale sharks and the environment,” Bengzon told reporters.
Bengzon said the DOT’s strategy to attract 10 million tourists by 2016 is anchored on environmental protection of the Philippine’s natural assets “so it’s important we protect our natural resources, in this case marine resources to sustain tourism.”
Oslob Mayor Ronald Guaren, interviewed separately at the forum, said he was aware of the controversy over his town’s tourism windfall which began in 2011. “We have talked to marine biologists who said that there is nothing wrong with our activities. Technically it is not feeding, we are only giving the whalesharks a little food to lure them to the surface. This is better than what is being done in other countries where they are placed inside aquariums and fed,” said the mayor. A debate continues over the impact of boatmen handfeeding krill or shrimplike crustaceans to whale sharks to draw them closer to the shores of barangay Tan-awan in Oslob where the town has a thriving whale shark watching tourism program.
Some marine scientists warned that “domesticating” wildlife would endanger them and create a dependency that dulls their hunting and survival instincts.
Propeller cuts and scars have been seen on some whalesharks that visit Oslob. The private research group Physalus, which has been documenting the animals’ movements, reported last year that “friendly” whalesharks were seen approaching motorized bancas, expecting to be fed krill, and ended up wounded by the propeller blades or contact with boat hulls.
About 250 tourists visit Oslob on weekdays and an average of 640 on weekends.
The Physalus researchers identified 62 individual whale sharks mostly juveniles from three meters to seven meters long, that visit Oslob.
The Regional Development Council (RDC) in Central Visayas this week took the position that whale shark feeding was good for tourism in and Cebu, and that they saw nothing wrong with the practice. The council was responing to an appeal by the RDC in the Bicol region which wrote to Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. lobbying for his support to stop the whale shark feeding in Oslob, saying this would harm the good practices that Donsol Whale Shark Watching project has been doing.
Donsol pioneered whale shark conservation and tours, training boatmen and spotters to bring visitors out to see to view whale sharks at a distance or to swim underwater alongside the marine animals, following strict rules of keeping one’s distance and not feeding them.
DOT Central Visayas Regional Director Rowena Montecillo said that there have been initial studies done by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) over a limited period well as by Physalus who were tapped by the provincial government.
But she said their findings were not enough to make a conclusion whether feeding the whale sharks is harmful in the long run.
“What we are suggesting is a continued study where the local government of Oslob should lead together with BFAR, DENR and an NGO (non-government organizations) perhaps could be tapped for the study. They have the expertise,” said Montecillo.
The initial BFAR report recommended strict enforcement of Do’s and Don’ts of whale shark watching, which includes keeping a 5 meter distance, and not touching the sea creatures.
BFAR also recommended a scientific study on the health of the whale sharks, water quality, plankton profile and inspection and monitoring of adjacent areas for possible nursery ground of whale sharks.
“Continued efforts and initiative by the BFAR, DENR, NGOs with the cooperation of the local government of Oslob to come up with a best solution to address the issue on whether to feed or not to feed the whale sharks and eventually create a management council that will assist tourism providers, regulate and implement international best practice standards in sustainable ecotourism,” the BFAR report said.
Montecillo said the DOT is coordinating with RDC on related issues like livelihood for Oslob residents, who have traded fishing for the lucrative opportunities of whale shark tourism./with Marian Codilla
