Jellyfish sighting sours Butanding Festival

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay, Philippines — With just five days before its Butanding Festival, Donsol town in Sorsogon province had limited its whale shark interaction due to sightings of the deadly box jellyfish in local waters.

Mayor Josephine Alcantara-Cruz, in an advisory on Friday, said minors and those with “compromised health conditions” would not be allowed to snorkel in the waters of Donsol, which is famous for whale sharks, locally known as “butanding,” to avoid injuries from Chironex fleckeri, a venomous species of box jellyfish.

Nonie Enolva, spokesperson for the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Bicol, said this species of box jellyfish produces “extremely potent venom” that could kill a person in just a few minutes.

The whale sharks visit the town’s waters to feed from April to May, the peak of the butanding season for tourists.

Safety measures

Enolva said an emergency response orientation for butanding interaction officers, resort owners and fishers would be done in coordination with the Department of Health.

She said owners of beach resorts had designated swimming areas enclosed by fishing nets.

Enolva said tourists who wanted to interact with whale sharks would be asked to wear protective gears like rash guards, tights or wetsuits.

Death

Manuel Narvadez, World Wildlife Fund-Philippines project manager, said the same species of box jellyfish was responsible for the death of a 7-year-old girl in Caramoan, Camarines Sur, in August last year.

Enolva said sightings of box jellyfish were also reported in Baras town in Catanduanes province and Ragay and Del Gallego towns and Lagonoy Gulf in Camarines Sur. —REY ANTHONY OSTRIA