Whale sharks can't stand heat in Donsol

LEGAZPI CITY , Philippines – Even the whale sharks are shying away from the warm surface seawater off Donsol, the town dubbed as the whale shark capital of the world.

The low sighting of whale sharks in the past few days is causing local and tourism officials to worry as more tourists are going to Donsol for the peak season from March to May.

“We are going to hold our biggest promotion this month since the butandings were discovered eleven years ago,” Donsol municipal official and chairperson of the Whale Shark Festival 2012 Ronald Malimlim announced during the launch on Wednesday.

“Of course, we are worried after the butanding interaction officers reported only five sightings these past days,” Malimlim said.

According to Maria Ravanilla, Department of Tourism (DOT) regional director, some 13,717 tourists came to Donsol from January to March this year, mostly foreign tourists (7,771) and the rest local (5,946).

“This could be due to warming sea water temperature spawned by global warming,” Ravanilla noted.

She added that the local tourism council in consultation with various stakeholders including the World Wide Fund (WWF) has made a recommendation to limit the number of motor boats to just 15, which could sail for the whale shark interaction stating 7 a.m. Another 15 boats will be allowed to sail at 8 a.m.

“This will lessen the amount of noise on the surface water, which disturbs the whale shark while feeding on the planktons below,” Ravanilla explained.

During the peak season some 30 motorboats are out at sea just to find the whale sharks and once they are spotted almost all of them converge on the sea so tourists can interact with the butandings.

WWF coordinator Raul Burce, who made an extensive study of documenting the whale sharks off Donsol, said there is no conclusive finding yet that the drop in sightings is due to global warming.

“This seasonal phenomenon happened during the La Niña season in 2001,” Burce said.

Burce disclosed that many whale sharks are migrating to the San Jacinto-Monreal portion of Ticao Pass, about 30 kilometers from Donsol.

“They are staying deeper and near the Manta Ray reservation site,” Burce noted.

Since January, Burce and his group have identified some 62 whale sharks based on their length and spots in their bodies and of the 62, some 49 whale sharks returned to Donsol.

The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) popularly called here as butanding... begins to show up between December to May off the waters of Donsol, which is one of their seasonal feeding grounds.

Malimlim added that more whale shark sightings could be expected with the start of the rainy season between the third week of May and first week of June.

“I just hope and pray they are still around.”