Shark travel - whale sharks in the Philippines

For many people, the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is top of their list to see. Whilst I have had the opportunity to encounter many types of shark on my global wanderings including white sharks, bull sharks, blacktips and grey nurse sharks, it feels as though I almost left the poor whale shark until last!

Capable of attaining lengths of up to 12m, the whale shark is the largest living fish in our oceans. However they are no threat to humans (unless you don't mind out for that powerful tail!) as their diet primarily consists of plankton which they filter out of the water.

Whale sharks are found all over the world in tropical and warm temperate seas, however there are some spots where sightings are quite common. I visited one of those such spots recently: Donsol in the Philippines.
Legazpi airport is the closest dropping off point for Donsol. I flew there from Manilla with Cebu Pacific Air (about 1 hour). Once you are at Legazpi airport a 1 hour drive through hilly, forested terrain will bring you to Donsol. I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of impact by tourism on Donsol - despite having a major tourist draw in the form of the whale shark, the town still feels very local and I didn't encounter too many other tourists there during my stay.

Donsol has plenty of local delicacies available at the market!

The peak time to see whale sharks here is over the Easter period, but the season runs from December to May. I had booked into a hotel in town - Giddy's Place (http://www.giddysplace.com/) and they were able to arrange my trip out with the whale sharks. Once you arrive at Donsol Bay you are assigned a Butanding Interaction Officer (BIO), a guide and a spotter and out you go on your boat for a maximum of 3 hours to try and find some sharks!

The spotters risk it all to get up high and spot whale sharks!

Known locally as butanding, the whale sharks are often found near the surface as they feed on plankton blooms. On our first day out we were incredibly unlucky - no sharks at all - only a pod of dolphins which put on a real show leaping clear out of the water! However on our return for day 2, we had a total of 5 whale sharks show up. The boat does not stop as it positions itself close to the shark - a quick leap from the moving boat and you are in the water with the largest fish in the world. And for anyone who might be worried that the clumsy monkeys in the water are capable of harassing these gentle giants, please rest assured that you will swim with everything you have just to try and keep up with the shark for 30 seconds. A few, slow flicks of their giant tail and the whale sharks had accelerated way past our group.

On one encounter, as the shark began to dive, I was lucky enough that it passed a few meters below me. I simply lay perfectly still in the water as the behemoth cruised past underneath me seemingly not bothered by my presence.  

Whale sharks are currently only legally protected in 10 countries - one of which is the Philippines. There is no doubt that the Philippine government has realised the tourist value of the whale sharks and this has led to them protecting the shark. I am happy to report that the standards of the guides and spotters on the whale shark trip were very high. All participants had to watch a video informing them of correct ethical conduct around the sharks - no touching, no riding, only 6 people maximum around a shark and only for a maximum time of 10 minutes. Once on board the boat and out at sea the crew enforced the rules and made sure that the sharks were not harassed. With such pressure on sharks from the trade for fins (a whale shark fin can fetch up to USD$10,000), tourism is the best chance we have now to encourage governments to really make the effort to protect their sharks from poaching.

To see a video of my time in Donsol, click the link below!