GENTLE GIANTS The identification team of World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines(WWF-Philippines) catalogs whale sharks in Sorsogon province, documenting the presence of these “gentle giants” in Donsol town in April and June this year.—PHOTO COURTESY OFWWF-PHILIPPINES
LEGAZPI CITY—Whale shark or “butanding” sightings in Donsol, Sorsogon, have surged to 90 this year, a dramatic increase from the declining numbers seen over the past few years, which dropped to as low as 43 in 2023, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines (WWF-Philippines).
In a report sent to the Inquirer on Thursday, the conservation group said the number of whale shark sightings in Donsol reached 156 (92 new and 64 resightings) in 2019 only to drop to 70 in 2020, then to 58 in 2021, 57 in 2022 and 43 last year.
Of the 90 sightings from February to June this year, 53 were new sightings, while 37 were resightings.
Resightings mean that the WWF-Philippines has, in previous years, encountered and identified them through a process called photo identification, which has been used in Donsol since 2007.
READ: 104 whale sharks seen for first time in Donsol
In photo identification, whale sharks are cataloged through their spots and other markings, much like fingerprinting a person.
Nyx Bailon, communications officer at the WWF Donsol Integrated Conservation Program, told the Inquirer that the peak month for whale shark sightings this year was in April.
‘Valuable insights’
According to the WWF, most of the sightings were at Katundulan Point in Tinanogan village, which is within Donsol’s marine protected area.
“This data and the new observations contribute valuable insights into the population and movement patterns of these sharks,” according to WWF.
The group also attributed the high number of sightings to having more members on the photo identification team and the acquisition of their research boat, MBCA Miraya.
Bailon said that from having one photo aide in 2023, they now have, in addition to two aides, one local volunteer and four foreign volunteers from Poland, Mexico and France.
“There is a lot of encouragement for volunteers, usually through word of mouth. This is widespread, and there we get many inquiries,” she told the Inquirer.
But the team from WWF-Philippines is still having difficulties in terms of identifying the gender of some newly sighted whale sharks.
Besides limited resources and sometimes murky waters, this is also due to the depth and speed of the whale sharks, as well as the team’s adherence to guidelines to avoid disturbing the whale sharks.
To date, the team has documented 20 male and 26 female whale sharks. Forty-four of the sighted sharks were not identified.
According to the same report, some whale sharks had fishing nets entangled around them or found with injuries.
“Addressing these issues is crucial for improving conservation efforts. WWF Donsol has recently laid out plans to conduct rescue training for the staff and selected butanding interaction officers and the purchase of equipment to help with marine animal rescue,” according to WWF.