Whale Shark & Firefly Interactions: Some misactions

From obscurity to fame, the town of Donsol, Sorsogon, Philippines was placed on the tourism map for its whale shark and more lately, its firefly interactions. Its a conservation success story that reversed hunting of whale sharks for food and export to objects of wonder that became the backbone of the country's leading ecotourism destination. It has ignited an economic activity that spread throughout the region, propelling the town and adjacent areas to profit from sudden influx of tourist. From airlines, to hotels, transport system and tourism ancilliary industries, the whale shark interaction has breath life to otherwise deteriorating tourist destinations such as the Mayon Volcano.

The development of this tourism destination was made possible by support and cooperation of the local government, department of tourism, NGOs and support of global conservation agencies that ensured its proper development. Locally-trained Butanding Interaction officers (BIOs) guide tourist of rules and regulations, guide tourist to observe the whale shark and ensure safety at all times.

But somehow, the quality of service have deteriorated over the years. As a regular visitor to the area of the last five years, I have observed several issues that needs the immediate attention:

1. Some BIOs do not inform the guests of rules of interaction; as a result, tourists touch the whale shark and swimming too near the animal.
2. Wanton violation of interaction rules by BIOs: these include
a) obstructing the swimming of whale shark in order to please their guests. During my last interaction last May 28, 2009, four BIOs took turns to force the poor whale to surface and "corner" the animal.
b) One boat one whale shark policy - on this date, eight boats and guests numbering around 30 are chasing this poor animal.

This happens because of too few sightings towards the end of the season. BIOs and the pumpboats do it to please their guests. My questions are: who implement and enforce these rules. If violations occur, where should it be reported, to whom? What are the punishments for such violations?

Another issue is the use of these bulky life vests. While its use is a safety provision, it is not designed for use in swimming. Going after a whale shark creates so much resistance creating so much noise and disturbance on its wake and providing other swimmers a grand display of air bubbles. They hinder further movement of other swimmers. The DOT should consider use of more hydrodynamic life vest for not so good swimmers or perhaps, a glass bottom boats for these non-swimmers.

Another and a more serious issue is the amount of plastics floating in the water. Pet bottles, wrappers of food chips, plastic glass and bags abound in the interaction area, concentrated by unique current of the area. Some concrete actions need to be done and would need the cooperation of the whole town an adjacent areas.

The firefly interaction was great, the cresent moon providing the background light to the twinkling rhapsody of the firelies. With great interest, we asked questions to our interaction officer about the firefly only to end up with no additional information. These guides ought to be able to explain and provide some background information but wielded nothing but a guiding light from her flashlight. The communication skill is below par. While these interactions could provide jobs they should provide the services paid for. Perhaps, a reading material could prove better than these firefly guides.