{"id":5851,"date":"2015-12-09T21:01:35","date_gmt":"2015-12-10T05:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dontforgettomove.com\/?p=5851"},"modified":"2019-10-24T14:56:54","modified_gmt":"2019-10-24T21:56:54","slug":"swim-with-whale-sharks-in-cebu-oslob","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dontforgettomove.com\/swim-with-whale-sharks-in-cebu-oslob\/","title":{"rendered":"Why We Choose Not to Swim with Whale Sharks in Cebu"},"content":{"rendered":"

I look up from the boat and realize we\u2019re a lot closer to shore than I thought. The gentle rhythm of the boat, combined with an early morning start, must have put me in a sleepy slumber. Christine gives me a gentle nudge and points in the direction of the eager onlookers. All the passengers on board have begun to gather around the left side of the boat, gazing at the masses of wooden paddleboats that are beginning to assemble in the water. We all begin to search the waters, hoping to get our first glimpse of the famous Oslob whale sharks. Most of the passengers on our boat are here to swim with the whale sharks, and in a short moment they too will join the hordes of tourists being shuttled in and out of the waters of Oslob. Unfortunately we will not be part of that group.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get us wrong, we\u2019d love to be able to experience these majestic animals in their up close and natural habitat. In fact, when we first started planning our Philippines trip swimming with whale sharks was high on our bucket list. And that was a really tough list to make. Coming into this trip we were super excited about planning our list of things to do in the Philippines<\/a><\/span>. We scoured the Internet, pulling apart every Lonely Planet forum and making our way through the masses of blog articles compiled by eager travelers and locals alike. From the thousands of options out there we barely managed to narrow it down into a list of ten. Of those ten choices one that really stood out was the incredible opportunity to swim with whale sharks in Oslob, Cebu.<\/p>\n

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\"whale<\/p>\n

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Years ago Christine was fortunate enough to come across a couple of whale sharks while diving in Honduras, which can be rare, and we\u2019d heard it was pretty easy to replicate those experiences in Cebu. Pictures on the Internet did nothing but fuel our wanderlust. At the time however, little did we know about the potential affects that this could have on the famous whale sharks in Cebu. Like many animal tourist activities, there are always a number of factors to consider regarding animal welfare, sustainability and overall community impact. Having a swim with the whale sharks might sound like a fun idea, but it quickly turns from interesting attraction to animal exploitation if tourist interaction is impacting the species and it\u2019s habitat.<\/p>\n

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Scene From the Whale Shark Tours in Cebu<\/h2>\n

When we were taking the boat from Bohol<\/a><\/span> to Cebu we happened to dock at Oslob, so we were able to witness first hand the scene at the beach. Picture an area no bigger than a football pitch, about 50 odd meters from the beach and full to the brim with boats and people snorkelling around. From the surface we couldn\u2019t get a full gauge on what was going on, but do a simple search and amongst the amazing whale shark selfies you\u2019ll see pictures of people touching and holding onto the animals. It\u2019s crowded and you don\u2019t seem to get long in the pit. Tour guides roll you in and out at a rate to keep up with the continual flow of boats arriving, while feeding the animals to keep them attracted. Even seeing this was enough to make us feel confident we made the right decision, with the tour looking more like a zoo than an authentic nature exhibition.<\/p>\n

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\"snorkeling<\/p>\n

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But we didn\u2019t want to make a snap judgement based on our personal experience alone. We\u2019re far from experts in marine biology so we decided to chat with actual <\/em>marine biologists who could give us the scoop on whether this activity is detrimental to the animals. Here\u2019s what we learned.<\/p>\n

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Want to find other ethical whale shark experiences while traveling? Check out our full guide to Swimming with Whale Sharks Around the World<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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The Impact on the Whale Sharks<\/h2>\n

Many international marine conservation organizations have spoken about the negative affects of the whale shark tours in Oslob. Reef-World<\/a><\/span>, a UK based conservation group focussed in Southeast Asia, and their United Nations Environment Programme initiative Green Fins<\/a><\/span>, have \u201ccome out against the tourism activities in Oslob, noting that the practice of feeding wildlife is unsustainable\u201d. There are also many local initiatives in the Philippines that are working on monitoring and researching the whale sharks visiting Oslob. The Large Marine Vertebraes Project Philippines (LAMAVE<\/a><\/span>) in particular is leading the way in research surrounding whale sharks in the Philippines. They also have the difficult task of juggling marine conservation, local community development, education initiatives and Philippine bureaucracy.<\/p>\n

The official conservation status for whale sharks is \u2018vulnerable and declining\u2019, so now really isn\u2019t the time to take a gamble on how much of an impact this tourist activity is having. A study conducted by marine biologists observing Oslob whale sharks supports this sentiment by stating, \u201cpoor and unregulated whale shark tourism can lead to short and potentially long-term impacts, like behavioral change and displacement from critical habitats\u201d (Source<\/a><\/span>). Some of these behavioral and habitat changes include:<\/p>\n

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Decrease in Nutritional Value<\/em><\/h2>\n

The main reason the whale sharks visit Oslob everyday, and keep returning, is because they\u2019re getting fed. Everyday fishermen attract the sharks to the site by feeding them one type of krill (uyap<\/em>) that they purchase in bulk. Because of this the whale sharks are now spending up to 6 hours feeing in Oslob, losing out on some of the key nutrients that they gain from foraging naturally. With over a hundred different types of nutrients on offer the whale sharks are only getting a handful because of the lack of quality in their feed. Think of it like a human eating the same thing all day, everyday. One of the concerns is the affect this may have down the line with growth and reproduction.<\/p>\n

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