Volunteers Dive with Whale Shark
Added to website: 15 July 2005
Volunteers on the Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project (PH1)were thrilled to encounter a 10-metre whale shark whilst on a recent survey dive of the newly designated Santa Sofia Marine Protected Area, Southern Leyte.
Sogod Bay and adjacent areas in Southern Leyte contain some of the richest and most pristine coral reefs in the Philippines and are an important feeding area for a range of marine megafaunal species, including pilot whale and whale shark.
The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is the largest fish on the planet with adults reaching a staggering 18 metres in length. Whale sharks are non-aggressive and feed on concentrations of zooplankton, small fish and squid. Despite their gentleness whale shark are globally threatened by illegal harvesting and by-catch and as a result are classified as ‘vulnerable’ in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List.
Since 1995, CCC has worked with the Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation and local communities to survey and safeguard reef and rainforest areas in coastal regions of the Southern Negros Occidental, Anilao, Palawan, Danjugan Island and the forests of North Negros.
At the invitation of the Governor Lerias (Provincial Government of Southern Leyte), CCC began its survey work in Sogod Bay in September 2002. The aim of PH1 is to develop local capacity and ensure the long-term protection and sustainable use of marine resources throughout the region. The surveys conducted by CCC involve recording information about the reef and the organisms that live on the reef. In additional to information collection, CCC is actively involved in workshops, school open days, and more recently, the establishment of four fish sanctuaries in each of the 4 Barangays that make up the Padre Burgos Municipality.
The four sanctuaries of Buenavista, Santa Sofia, Longsodaan and Tangkaan Barangays, were officially opened on the 27th of May, 2005. Recently, an ordinance has been passed that will enforce the sanctuaries as a ‘no-go’ zone for everyone. Two exceptions being scientific diving to assess the success of the sanctuary and fee-based recreational diving to generate funds for maintenance and promotion of the sanctuaries. CCC is actively involved in surveying these sanctuaries and teaching local fish sanctuary wardens and other counterparts how to dive and conduct survey methodology.
Although the whale shark sighting is by no means an indication that the fish sanctuaries are already a success, it does remind us of what a rich and valuable area Sogod Bay is and the importance of managing it for future generations.
