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#1
04-10-2007, 05:49 PM
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Whale sharks of Donsol, Philippines
Hey Ya'all,
I'm writing you from Manila. I'm getting ready to board a plane shortly to come home. When I get back I'll post a full trip report about the whale sharks of Donsol but for now I'll summarize and say that it's pretty amazing. There are dozens of sharks in an area about a square mile, but the down side is dozens of boats bringing tourists to them (Most of the sharks have scars from boat propellers) , and very limited visibility. On some mornings we had viz of 10 feet. Typical was no more than 20. Meaning you couldn't see all the way from one end of a large whale shark to the other!! It's like diving with the basking sharks in Canada. However it is still possible to get decent shots with a W-I-D-E lens and a little effort. Shooting video is trickier though because you are only allowed to use a snorkel (although I'm not sure how you would be able to use scuba anyway). Here are a couple shots. More detail/pics when I get back. Jonathan 
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#2
04-12-2007, 04:46 PM
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OK, I'm home. So, what can I say about this... I was in Donsol shooting whale sharks as part of my film Secrets of the Reef which is shot entirely in the Philippines and Malaysia. I could have filmed whale sharks elsewhere in clearer water and closer to home, but the film needs to be authentic. I had the support of the Philippines Department of Tourism, which greatly helped me organize and undertake this shoot. But now that I have done it once, it would be much easier to do again.
A little history. Back in 1997, local fishermen in Donsol reported something they had known for years: large seasonal aggregations of whale sharks very close to shore near the mouth of the Donsol river where the nutrients from the river create conditions for a massive plankton bloom (warm water+sun+nutrients). The viz is only 20 feet on a good day, but there are dozens of whale sharks in an area only a square mile, and often within a stone's throw from shore. I have never seen so many whale sharks in one place. I'm told it's a lot like Holbox Mexico. I'm going there in July, so I'll let you know. By 1998 they had developed a tourism industry around the sharks, with the set of interaction rules adopted from those of Exmouth, Australia. (Snorkel only, no strobes, max of 7 snorkelers per boat, one boat per shark, no touching). Today, there are 25 boats at a time allowed on the water. Except during the high season weekends or Holy Week (big vacation time in the Philippines) there are not typically that many on the water. Of course I was there during holy week and there were a lot of boats. High season is March-April. Most of the sharks have scars from propellers. They are shallow and swimming in murky water. They often cut right under the boats at the last minute. I'm not sure what could be done to reduce the accidents. The boat operators swear they are not hitting the sharks, and the divemasters blame it on the fishermen (of course). When you bring it up in conversation, none of the operators want to discuss it or address it. They are pretending it doesn't exist. I think prop shrouds being mandatory on all the interaction boats would help. The boats are not going fast, so the props are the only danger, not hull impact. The way it works is each boat has a driver, a spotter and a divemaster, called an "interaction officer". He basically hops in with you and makes sure that nobody is touching the sharks, and everyone obeys the rules. The spotter climbs up on the mast of the banca (traditional Filipino boat with outriggers) and looks for a shark. In calm water you can see their spots when they are close to the surface. Otherwise you spot the dorsal fin or even the wake from a shallow sharks. They bring the boat near the shark, typically a hundred feet in front of the shark, and the snokelers hop in the water. The spotter directs the divemaster to the shark by pointing, and the divemaster directs the guests. Most interactions are short. The shark swims up, sees the swimmers, and either dives under them and keeps going, or swims around them once or twice and continues on. Every once in a while you get a curious shark that slows down, allows you to keep up, or circles around and around you. Those are the fun ones. The direction of the light in this low-viz water is important. You need to keep the sun behind you for good pictures. Most of the sharks range from medium (20 feet) to large (35 feet). We only saw one small shark (about 12 feet) and no monsters (40+ feet). Honestly, in this viz, the small ones are the best ones to photograph. We got the best video of the small 12 footer. Since the airline lost one of my totes, I was without a video housing for the first day, so I shot stills. The other two days I was shooting video. I also planned two days at nearby Ticao Island to film mantas. It supposed to be a sure thing, but I saw zero mantas. The local volcano had a minor eruption during my stay and they say that the volcano causes low frequency tremors that frightens the mantas into deep water and away from the seamount cleaning station. Regarding my lost bag, had it not been for the tourism board's connections and assistance, I would NEVER have gotten my bag transferred to Donsol without staying at the airport in Manila and dealing with it personally. If you go and you do not get a bag, DO NOT continue on to Donsol without it and expect it to arrive. To get there, first fly to Manila. You will typically have to stay overnight there. The next day you fly about 45 minutes on Philippine Airlines to the city of Legaspi (sometimes spelled Legazpi, never did figure that one out!) Then it's a one hour drive to Donsol. Donsol is actually an 8-10 hour drive from Manila, but the roads suck, so you are better off to fly. There are a bunch of resorts and they are all pretty primitive. We stayed at the Woodland Inn which has a few A/C rooms. It's hot, you want A/C, especially if you are loading cameras. The locals are used to the heat and are fine with non-A/C so most places have plenty of non-A/C rooms. Lots of Philippinos go there on a weekend getaway, so it's not all foreigners. I have one great story from the trip. Because we were there as VIPs with the Department of Tourism, we were assigned to Allan, the head of the interaction officers. This guy has been a shark guide since the early days of the operation. He is a very nice guy, who very much loves the sharks. We repeatedly asked him to find us a small shark for better viz, and he finally found the smallest one at Donsol for us. This shark, with no scars, is only 12 feet long. Allan calls this shark "Quattro quantos" (not sure on the spelling of the second word) which is the slang name for a local gin-like alcohol made from sugar cane. There is a great story behind it. Back in 2002, Allan heard of a fisherman in the next village that had caught a baby whale shark in a net. He went to the village to see if he could secure the safe release of the shark. When he got there, he found a 6 foot whale shark in shallows, barely alive, being sat on and played with by children. The fisherman, a known lover of all things alcoholic, was not willing to let it go. He was going to sell the fins and eat the meat. Allan negotiated a trade....the shark for two bottles of Quattro quantros! He borrowed 500 pesos (about $10) from a German tourist that he was guiding with the sharks, and bought the two bottles of booze for the fisherman. The shark was released to Allan's care. He and his friends built a loose harness to lash the shark to the outrigger of a banca, then gently towed the shark to move water through its gills and revive it. Finally, they released it, unharmed. Now, 5 years later, the shark is 12 feet long (twice the length, but probably 4 times the mass). The best part is that Allan gave me copies of some pictures his friend shot of the release of the shark so I can share them here!!! (See below) In the first shot, the guy on the left is Allan, right before the shark is released. The second shot show them aerating the gills. The last shot is the release! Jonathan
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#3
04-12-2007, 04:48 PM
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Once I go through my pictures, I will post a few more pics of the whole experience in Donsol.
Jonathan
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#4
04-12-2007, 05:23 PM
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Wellcome back Jonathan! I hope that you feel the trip succesfull!
The real story of released shark is beutiful. I will share it to my diver friends here in Finland. I hope that Allan felt that investment was worth of the value. Lot of stories (mainly negatives) of moral of diving in Philippines are moving around recently. I am planning a trip to Malapascua and I have concerns about that. Thank again about perfect report Jukka
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#5
04-12-2007, 05:55 PM
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Quote:
Jukka, Not quite sure what you mean about morals of diving... I will say this...the Philippines has FANTASTIC diving and good prices. Malapascua is amazing. Great diving there. Only problem is that they still have not managed to stop the blast fishing around that area as they have in most of the other popular diving areas. You will love Malapascua. The Philippines are truly excellent: nice people, good diving, friendly. I love it there. Jonathan
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#6
04-12-2007, 06:26 PM
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Quote:
I have heard that attitude against keeping UW environment alive is not always the best and loosing sometimes to business profitability. Some of the divemasters thinks that if something hides under the coral he have the right to dismantle the coral to get the subject to photographers. Dynamite fishing has killed corals in some sites totally? I don't know myself, but this I have heard and red. Malapascua got high ranking from several sources. Anyhow thanks for your comments...I will continue my planning there. Jukka
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#7
04-12-2007, 07:11 PM
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Jukka,
I have never encountered a divemaster or dive resort in the Philippines that was not just as environmentally conscious as anywhere else. The problem in the Philippines (and all over SE asia) is overfishing and blast fishing. There are too many people trying to survive on not enough fish. The reefs are beautiful, but not many large fish are seen in most places. The areas that are popular for diving have managed to reduce or stop blast fishing, but in many remote areas (and even around Malapascua) it is still rampant. This is the fishermen, not the divers doing this. Education is the only thing that will stop it. Fishermen do not understand that blast fishing destroys the habitat for the fish so that they will not come back. Some know but don't care. They are desperate for food. It's a tough situation. Tourism dollars are making a big difference though. They used to hunt the whale sharks at Donsol, but they don't anymore because they are worth so much more alive to tourists. The former fishermen now run shark-watching boats. It's really nice to see. The economy of that area is improving a lot. Jonathan
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#8
04-12-2007, 08:30 PM
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A few more pics!
1. Arriving in Legaspi with the volcano in the background 2. Boats awaiting shark snorkelers in the morning on the beach, Donsol. 3. A banca with snorkelers in the water. 4. Looking for sharks aboard our banca. Jonathan
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#9
04-12-2007, 08:31 PM
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A few more....
1. Whale shark from the surface. 2. The beach in front of our hotel. 3. Our cottage at the Woodland Inn. These are all just quick exports from my camera with no tweaking. They could use some level adjustments, etc. but if I wait until they have been tweaked to post them, you won't see them for months. Jonathan
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#10
04-13-2007, 12:04 PM
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A link for those interested....
Here is a link to a lightbox of the better images I shot in Donsol of the whale sharks underwater. This link will die in 90 days.
http://www.jonathanbird.net/cgi-bin/...185.5040972222 Best, Jonathan
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