Oslob, Cebu 2015

The culmination of our four-day adventure was a trip to Oslob, Cebu to swim with whale sharks. From Dumaguete, we went to Sibulan Port and took a fast craft (PHP 62) to Lilo-an Port in Cebu. The boat ride took only 17 minutes (I timed it). From the port, we took a Ceres bus (PHP 30) to Bgy. Tan-awan and went inside Aaron Beach Resort (PHP 100 entrance fee). We bought a ticket to swim with whale sharks (PHP 500 for Filipino nationals), and were assigned to a boat with four boatmen, life vests, and snorkeling gear.

Prior to the actual whale shark watching, there was an orientation given to tourists on the do's and don't's during the encounter. Tourists must maintain a four-meter distance from the whale sharks, tourists must not apply sun screen, etc. People who violated these rules will face jail time and pay a fine, and marine scientists(?) were in the area to monitor compliance with the rules. The encounter with whale sharks was limited to 30 minutes per boat.

Whether the rules were strictly implemented is up for debate, as photo after photo of tourists touching, even standing on, the whales have surfaced in the past. I did see one guy who got too close to the whale shark, about two meters, and was quickly reprimanded by the boat men.

One of the boatmen dove deep and took a series of photos of the rich marine life.

We saw about four whale sharks in all, most of them as long as an Elf truck. They were massive and majestic, and swimming with them was overwhelming because of their sheer size.

I went into this adventure knowing that their practice of feeding the whale sharks to keep their year-long presence in the area disrupts their migratory pattern, which has adverse effects on the marine biodiversity. The people in Oslob can learn from those in Donsol, Sorsogon, another spot famous for whale shark-watching, how to make their practice more sustainable.

Swimming with whale sharks has long been at the top of my bucket list. Once I saw the large silhouette of the creature on the water, I jumped right in. The experience was exhausting but exhilarating, although the consequences of patronizing their practice did tug at my conscience. I hope the locals find a way to look beyond short-term benefits and see long-term consequences.

31 July 2015