Swimming with Whale Sharks, Oslob, Philippines

Whale Sharks in the Philippines

Photos and Experiences

  In the sleepy little town of Oslob in the southeast corner of Cebu Island, whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) congregate close to shore for a feeding bonanza. But there is something unique about the feeding activity of these gentle giants slurping in sea water and filtering out all the tiny plankton. The method they suck in and filter out the plankton is the same here as it is throughout the tropics where whale sharks can be found. It is where the food is coming from that is different. These young whale sharks are being lured into this near shore water by fishermen tossing in huge handfuls of the sharks favorite food, brine shrimp. Now the fishermen are charging money to take people out to swim with the whale sharks. I talked with a lot of people in the Philippines about this area called Oslob and the impacts of these tours. There is a lot of debate about how the local fishermen are changing the whale sharks behavior and how the local village is being corrupted by this new influx of money. On the other hand people bring up the fact that this is exposing people to sharks and the ocean through close encounters with mega fauna and thus creating an influx of future ocean stewards. If the locals weren't making money taking tourists swimming with the sharks they might go back to making money by killing the sharks for their valuable fins. I really wanted to see for myself what this experience was really like for visitors and for the whale sharks.

Oslob is a three hour drive south of Cebu city but very close to Dumaguete. We just hopped on a pump boat and crossed over to Cebu island and then grabbed a motorized tricycle for the twenty minute ride up to the tiny town of Oslob. The place where the fishermen and whale sharks meet is only a few hundred meters offshore and about 10 minutes outside of the town proper.
  The fishermen that feed the sharks found out by accident that they could do this. Whale sharks naturally cruising through these waters go after the same animals for food that the fishermen use as bait, brine shrimp. It's a tiny planktonic shrimp that forms mass clouds numbering in the millions in these waters. A fisherman one day found that he could lead the whale sharks away from the area he was fishing by throwing in a trail of brine shrimp. It was only a couple of years ago this discovery was made. For a while the fishermen started taking out local visitors and tourist for 100 pesos ($2.5) to see the sharks. Recently the government has stepped in and put stricter regulations in place as well as a modest price rise to 1000pesos ($25). Even if you swim from shore you have to pay this entry fee. It includes a boat to the briefing area, a short 'rules of swimming with the whale sharks' briefing, and then a very short boat ride about 30 seconds away for 30 minutes of encounter time.

   In the briefing visitors are told to wear life jackets in the boat, but if they feel confident they can take them off while swimming. No touching, riding, or standing on the whale sharks is allowed. Also included is a rule to stay 12ft away from the sharks. The 12ft rule was not very enforced since the whale sharks are right next to the boats. Besides the researcher, Heidi and I were the only ones who could really swim and free dive. You are also told that underwater police are keeping track of how long you have been there and they are also issuing fines or imprisonment for any infringements of these rules. Oslob is not really a place I would want to spend an extra 4 months in, especially in prison.
   This organized effort at limiting time and activity close to the whale sharks was not in effect until recently. In the infancy of these tours pictures leaked out of people riding the whale sharks and even standing on them. This quickly brought outraged conservation groups down on those promoting whale shark encounters in Oslob. Today it is a tricky agreement in which the local government is getting more money that they have ever had and they are implementing action plans to improve snorkeler and diver observations while at the same time national and international wildlife conservation groups are all calling for a "Stop to the whale shark feeding in Oslob!." I will say it is hard to see such a majestic animal lapping at the boat's side waiting for a handout.
   There are researchers in Oslob trying to catalog all the sharks they see. It is easy to ID individual whale sharks by taking a picture of the left side of the body and using the unique pattern of spots to differentiate between sharks. A clever scientist tweaked a NASA star recognition program to catalog the white spots on whale sharks instead. A young American researcher we talked to said they have seen over 90 different whale sharks. This was good news since they see 8 or 9 on average every day it means they have some whale sharks coming and going on their natural migration routes. Even the ones that stick around more than the others leave after noon and aren't seen again until the next morning.

   My overall feeling of these tours is still mixed. We only decided to stay for one day even though the opportunity for whale shark pictures is absolutely amazing here. Seeing the sharks being hand fed by the few fishermen that have self-given permits to do it is not the way to go. If they protect the whale sharks and allow them to naturally pass through on their migration routes they could still do tours and promote better eco-tourism. The whole area has a Disney World aura about it. Even the "resorts" on the beach overlooking the whale shark area are just facades, hastily thrown together to take advantage of the money flowing in. If I would have been forced to stay with the tourists boats and the fishermen I would have been very disappointed. Being able to swim from shore, find sharks actively swimming thru the blue, freedive, and go at our own pace did make the experience very special.
  While there have been some obvious changes for the better to these tours recently, I believe it will take a total stop to the feeding to really put Oslob on the map as a viable whale shark encounter destination.