grabbing whale sharks by the tail

[dutchpickle]

this is merely stating the obvious

You guys that run dive tours to Tan Awan - please brief your customers in advance - you shouldn't have to tell them not to try to grab these sharks by the tail - really

Scuba and Snorkeling | Philippines

cheers

dp

 

[USCScubaboy]

Instant karma.

Score:
Whale shark: 1
Dumb diver: 0



Btw, do you know if the whale sharks hanging around is becoming a permanent thing or do they still migrate?

 

[drbill]

Even a good briefing may not overcome a diver's "instinctive" urge to touch. We briefed our divers several times NOT to touch turtles (and other critters) while they were diving with us in the waters of Belize and Honduras. I was in the middle of filming a great sequence of a turtle approach me when a diver's hand reached out and touched it, totally destroying the rest of the sequence as the turtle diverted course. The diver was admonished both underwater and topside by myself and the divemaster. I have also watched as caged divers tried to touch great whites cruising past us. Sad that they do the same thing in the PI with whale sharks.

 

[DonCebu]

Even a good briefing may not overcome a diver's "instinctive" urge to touch. Sad that they do the same thing in the PI with whale sharks.

They do.

There is now a mandatory briefing everyone entering the water in front of the unofficial sanctuary must do.... after paying the P300 entrance fee.

 

[DonCebu]

this is merely stating the obvious

You guys that run dive tours to Tan Awan - please brief your customers in advance - you shouldn't have to tell them not to try to grab these sharks by the tail - really


dp

Who is doing dive tours to Tan Awan ?

These videos were taken a month ago. Since then there has been more done to try to educate the people going to experience the Whale Sharks.

There is now a briefing center set up which everyone entering the water must pass through.

 

[DonCebu]

Btw, do you know if the whale sharks hanging around is becoming a permanent thing or do they still migrate?

No one knows what the sharks will do. The whale shark sightings in Oslob have only become common in the last few months. The local fisherman are feeding a small amount of shrimp every day, but it is really not that much compared to what they need to eat daily.

There really is'nt much know on the Whale Sharks migratory patterns, so now one really knows the answer or what will be the future for the Whale Sharks around Olslob.

 

[dutchpickle]

Yes : ) the briefing at the tents where you get the permits has improved greatly ! Fantastic! I think that it helped when I showed some of the pictures and videos I took to some people that could make a difference and help improve the process. The divers that come by boat enter the water from outside the sauctuary and their boats are moored at the perimeter of the sanctuary. The administration goes out to them to deliver the passes.

Other dive shops bring their customers by shuttle van.

The crowds on weekends and holidays can be a bit much! Especially Chinese New Year holiday - wow! It does become a bit of a circus.

I did spend 3 weeks there in Tan Awan just observing and taking low quality pics and video but had a fantastic experience.

As Don Cebu mentions there is a 300 peso fee. The Oslob admin gets 100 pesos (2.5USD) and the fishermen that shuttle the tourists in get 200 pesos (5USD)

But the bigger bucks go to the dive shops that bring in their customers - average cost that I am aware of is 75.00USD for snorkelers and 150.00USD for divers.

not all the dive shops tolerate this kind of activity from their customers but I was able to detect a definite trend with a few

dp

ps - i did see the divemaster after this incident shake his finger at the offending diver - as he was down below directing traffic -

 

[dutchpickle]

on my morning swim one day I took some pictures of this whale shark nibbling on seaweed

Whaleshark nibbling on seaweed | Philippines

another basic blog page with pics - low quality blog -low quality pics - whatever

Feeding whalesharks in Oslob | Philippines

The "shrimp" that is give to the whale sharks ( tuki-tuki ) is actually like a mud paste of very very small shrimp that turns the water cloudy but you can not actually see the shrimp. It is certainly not enough to keep the whale shark sustained but they seem to really enjoy this snack (locally named uyap)

with good management I think this is going to become a regular thing

I watched the whaleshark watching program evolve tremendously in Donsol - southern Luzon - over the past 17 years too - beautiful

dp