Swimming with Whale Sharks in Oslob, Philippines - Is it the right thing to do?
In the small fishing village of Oslob on the Southern tip of Cebu Island, whale sharks were seen as a problem for the fishing trade until 10 years ago.
The fishermen realised they could feed them and move them so they wouldn’t interfere with their fishing.
Why are thousands of tourists visiting Oslob?
The word spread about Oslob being a whale shark hotspot and now thousands of tourists come flooding into this place for a guaranteed 30 min swim and having selfies with whale sharks. The locals are using food to attract the Whale Sharks into an area which has been set up to enable visitors to safely swim with them.
Picture this. 15 boats in a 30 min session carrying 150 people in an area the size of a football field create a long alleyway for 8 - 10 whale sharks as they swim through the middle back and forth like they are in a parade whilst dozens of people surround them for selfie photos. This is done 5 times a day from 6am until Midday meaning up to 1,000 people take part. It’s the largest such venture in the world.
We took our children and they were mesmerised by these incredible animals.
They are actually classified as the biggest fish in the sea. Breathtaking… amazing… never to be forgotten is how we would describe the 30 mins we got with them in the water.
Getting up close and personal with these gentle giants is a top 10 world travel bucketlist experience! Being made to look so small in front of these magnificent huge creatures is astounding.
Is this type of tourism ethical?
The situation raises some tricky questions, for example about the impact of feeding and human interaction on the animals, the operation brings the whale sharks away from their natural migratory path, the sustainability of such an operation, and the conservation value.
Does any of the above create any longer term impact to the Whale Shark population? Is such an operation sustainable and would the Philippine Tourism Authority honestly say that there is conservation value here? Do the benefits outweigh potential downsides?
The rules say no touching but it is inevitable whether it’s an accident or on purpose. With so many people, it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on. On the plus side, the whale sharks are never harmed and neither are the tourists.
Is this type of tourism sustainable?
Whilst I am comfortable with tourist activity being set up to create income, there has to be a moral responsibility behind decisions that relate to how the activity is run, how many tourists can be allowed to take part and what the long term impacts could be on the stars of the show. This is a balance that has to be created and maintained. With the Oslob operation, it seems the balance is not there.
Oslob as a town has seen lots of economic benefit from the tourism which has helped to create prosperity for most of its small population but is it sustainable? Is it responsible? And the activity has done a great job of raising awareness for these gentle giants who are classed as endangered by the IUCN.
Are there alternatives to Oslob in the Philippines?
The whale sharks veer off their normal habitat and closer to shore knowing they will be fed every morning. It is unclear how this disrupts their migratory patterns. Is it effecting their long term survival? Other parts of the Philippines also offer swimming with whale sharks (Donsol, Luzon and Sogod Bay) but its no where near the scale of Oslob and practised where the whale sharks don't veer off their migratory path.
Nothing is guaranteed for the small groups of tourists on these trips as there is no feeding. Sounds a bit more like ethical tourism than Oslob doesn't it?
My final view on this is that what is going on in Oslob is now not responsible or ethical tourism. Whilst I am happy I did get to share the water with these magical creatures, I wish I had chosen another part of the Philippines to have this experience in a more responsible way.
I’m not saying that the whole Oslob operation should be closed down but there needs to be more education on the impacts of feeding them and interfering with their natural habits. There needs to be controls put in place to reduce the number of boats/visitors. Maybe it’s simply about increasing the price? Maybe there also needs to be quotas put in?
Whether we choose to ride elephants, get close to drugged up tigers, take selfies with whale sharks, it’s up to us as responsible tourists and global citizens to decide where we spend our money and be conscious of how this affects generations to come.
