Whale shark visitors swarm Oslob; public hearing on Tuesday

About 1,500 visitors yesterday swarmed the coast of  barangay Tan-awan, Oslob town eager to get into bancas to see whale sharks up close.

The Easter Sunday surge was double the size of the usual weekend  crowd, said town officials.

Long lines and priority numbers that were ignored by excited spectators who rushed to the boats led to some complaints about the disorganized system.

“We waited here for almost two hours,” said 31-year-old Kahrim Mangudatu of Negros Oriental province, “but some who arrived late went ahead of us.”

Long lines by the beach are becoming a familiar sight this summer, a  sign of how the fishing village and Oslob town has its hands full coping with the  rising summer demand of local and foreign visitors to see the slow-moving behemoths at sea feeding on krill tossed into the water by fishermen.

A coming April 15 rate increase in the current P300 ticket for whale shark watching charged by the Oslob local government is worrying some fishermen who fear this will  turn away visitors.

“Di mi mu-uyon ana. Unsaon na lang among puhunan, di mabawi.  Kung walay’ feeding sa tuki, wala na’y amak-amping nila,” said Ramon Lagahid of the Oslob Whale Watchers Association, one of three local groups acting as boat guides and feeders.

(We dont’ agree with that.  We can’t recover our investment. And if the whale sharks aren’t fed, no one will take care of them.)

But Oslob tourism officer Elizabeth Tabasa said implementation of the amended ordinance approved by the Oslob Municipal Council for the April 15 rate hike is still tentative.

She said a public hearing is set on Tuesday to hear the sentiments of local fishermen and other stake holders.

As approved by the town council,  on April 15 the fee for 40 minutes of snorkeling with whale sharks will be raised to P500 for local visitors and P1,000 for foreigners.

For diving, the rate will increase to P600 for local divers and P1,500 for foreign divers.

At present only one rate is charged – P300 for whale shark watching, with an additional  P20 for snorkeling and P50 for diving. Oslob residents enjoy a deep discount at P30 only per adult and half that cost for children but no distinction is made between a local or foreign guest.

Under the amended town ordinance, a three-tier rate will be adopted.

The basic experience of whale shark watching from a boat will remain P300 per person.  But it will cost P500 if the guest is a foreigner under the approved rate hike.

“If the rate increase  pushes through, I think tourist arrivals would decrease by 90 percent,” said Lagahid, an Oslob fisherman in Cebuano.

As for yesterday’s large crowds and frustrated visitors who saw others jump the line, Lagahid said, “It’s difficult for us to monitor because there are many guests and few of us.”

As early as 6 a.m. yesterday, the parking area in barangay Tan-awan was full.  Vehicles that took the two- to three-hour road trip from Cebu City had to park on the public road outside a designated briefing center.

A tent, ticketing booth and food stalls occupy a private-owned 200-square meter lot facing the sea.

Three municipal representatives distributed tickets and priority number with the curent rate of P300 per person.

About 60 persons can be accomodated for a briefing on “do’s” and “don’ts” that emphasize rules that prohibit visitors from touching the whale sharks, using flash cameras or swimming within five meters from them.

Briefing officers had to speak loudly to be heard by the crowd.

With the increasing popularity of Oslob’s whale shark adventure, even the local supply of krill  –  tiny crustaceans that look like baby shrimp – isn’t enough.

Lagahid said he noticed that local fishermen, who would catch their supply the night before, now had to buy krill from other coastal towns like Moalboal and Alegria at P55 per kilo.

Since  Holy Wednesday, he said they had to buy P18,000 worth of krill for  supply that lasted till Easter Sunday.

Lagahid emphasized that even with an increased ticket rate, the sharing scheme of proceeds would be the same.

Under an Oslob municpal ordinance passed in Janaury, revenues from whale shark tourism would be shared based on 60 percent for the accredited fishermen associations, 30 percent for the Oslob municipality and 10 per cent for barangay Tan-awan.

Lagahid said fishermen would prefer  smaller fees for visitors to ensure more income.

He said they noticed an increase in visitor arrivals since April, the start of summer vacations.

Lagahid said that local boatmen and fisher guides would earn at least P800 daily on weekends and holidays, and P200-P400 on weekdays.

Oslob municipal officials said that around 1,500 visitors went whale shark  watching on Easter Sunday.

Forty-two local fishermen from three organizations act as boat guides, feeders and marshalls for the new tourism enterprise which is managed by the municipality of Oslob.

Ella Saga, 34, came with her family and friends  from Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental to see the whale sharks.

She said that she’s fortunate to experience it rates go up.

“If that price increase is final, I won’t come back anymore,” she told Cebu Daily News.

She said she found the new rates too expensive when the whale sharks are only 50 meters away from the shore.

Saga said the town govenrment is profiting from the activity but has not put up facilities for visitors to justify higher fees.

“They have not invested in anything here. It’s not fair for consumers,” she said.

Eva Lambid, 24, from Minglanilla Cebu said that she and her Canadian husband plan to return to  Oslob next month after their trip to Luzon.

She said that higher visitor fees would discourage them because Oslob doesn’t have sufficient diving gear to rent to vistors. /Candeze R. Mongaya, Reporter