The Editor says: Many tourists make a special trip to Oslob in the Philippines just for the chance to swim with Whale Sharks — and that experience has truly transformed what was once a quiet fishing village, benefiting countless families in the process. At the same time, it has drawn the attention of conservationists who argue that provisioning wild animals will alter their behavior and ultimately prevent them from returning to life in the wild. This kind of situation exists at dive sites in many countries around the world. Whether it is ultimately good or bad remains unsettled for now, but only through a deeper understanding of the issue can we appreciate the real impact of such practices. Is it a necessary evil in the promotion of marine recreation? This article is republished in full from the Why not Australia Facebook page.
Swimming with Whale Sharks
Over the past few years, I've been seeing more and more people heading to Cebu,
coming back with photos and videos of themselves swimming alongside Whale Sharks.
It wasn't until I was about to go to Cebu myself that I did some serious research —
and I wanted to share what I found.
Whether you've been or not,
whether you've seen a Whale Shark or not,
this is something truly worth thinking about again.
There's no particular agenda behind what I'm about to say —
only that the Whale Shark has always been the reason I fell in love with the ocean.
In Oslob, nothing is more famous than the 100% guaranteed Whale Shark encounter.
According to an article published by (phillinestravelpackage.com),
the article reveals what the Whale Sharks of Oslob are actually facing —
and why this travel platform no longer promotes Whale Shark swimming tours in Oslob.
The Problems with Whale Shark Swimming
- The Impact of Feeding on Migration Patterns
Like other fish, Whale Sharks are highly migratory. The primary drivers of migration are food and reproduction. During summer and spring, most Whale Sharks travel along the coastlines of tropical regions — places like the Gulf of Mexico, Australia, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Their annual migration routes span thousands of miles, and in 2018, data was recorded showing a Whale Shark named "Anne" traveled more than 20,000 km. While the exact purpose of Whale Shark migration is not fully understood, we do know they are a species with defined migratory patterns. Yet the Whale Sharks in Oslob are staying longer and longer, because local fishermen and operators feed them — causing them to stop migrating altogether. One Whale Shark named "Mr. Bean" was recorded staying in the area for 392 days.
This feeding behavior has clearly disrupted their migration patterns. For an already endangered species like the Whale Shark, the reproductive cycle is negatively affected by provisioning. Female Whale Sharks seek out a "suitable" location — one with sufficient food and safety — to give birth and maximize offspring survival rates. When migration stops, this reproductive cycle is disrupted, the survival rate of Whale Shark offspring declines, and an already endangered species is pushed closer to the edge.
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- Changes to Whale Shark Feeding Behavior
Whale Sharks are filter-feeding sharks that rely on a versatile suction filter-feeding method. This method allows them to capture larger, more active prey as well as aggregations of zooplankton, while also enabling them to filter smaller volumes of water more efficiently, concentrating and consuming plankton.
In simple terms, a Whale Shark takes in a large mouthful of seawater and then filters it out through its gills, retaining whatever it wants to eat. Their primary diet consists of plankton, occasionally supplemented by small animals such as krill, jellyfish, sardines, squid, and crab — as long as they are small enough.
However, oceanographers and scientists observing the Oslob Whale Sharks have noted that this natural feeding method no longer appears there. The Oslob Whale Sharks have instead been seen exhibiting "vertical feeding position," "passive feeding," and "surface feeding behaviour" — none of which are the most natural feeding methods for Whale Sharks. While these feeding postures have been observed in individual sharks elsewhere, they are not their primary mode of feeding.
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3. Injuries
The Whale Sharks in Oslob have been conditioned to associate boats with food. Even when they swim outside the interaction and feeding zones, they have developed the habit of rushing toward any vessel expecting to be fed. They have no way to distinguish between a boat that will feed them and one that won't. The most dangerous situations arise when they encounter motorized dinghies outside the feeding area and rush straight at them. Scientists have observed numerous wounds on Oslob's Whale Sharks caused by collisions with motorized boats. One example is a Whale Shark named Fermin, who had numerous injuries to his face and around his eyes. He stayed out of the interaction zone for several days because he had associated pain with approaching boats. Although his wounds healed, the damage to his eyes was permanent.
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4. Nutritional Content of the Food
As mentioned earlier, Whale Sharks eat plankton and small crustaceans — things like krill, crab larvae, copepods, and small fish such as sardines, anchovies, and mackerel. They occasionally take larger prey like small tuna, albacore, and squid (Compagno, 1984; Last & Stevens, 1994). They also consume phytoplankton and macroalgae.
The Whale Shark is the largest fish in the world — the size of a bus — and it eats an enormous amount. On average, it spends 7.5 hours a day feeding and consumes roughly 44 kg of plankton. But in Oslob, the sharks are fed only small shrimp, and reportedly receive no food at all when there are no tourists.
Because feeding from the boats is highly inefficient, the local Whale Sharks are unable to get "enough" food. Being fed primarily on sakura shrimp, their nutritional intake falls far short of what a wild Whale Shark — free to eat a wide variety of prey — would receive.
To make matters worse, as the price of sakura shrimp in Oslob has risen, more and more fishermen are sourcing shrimp from distant suppliers. The long-distance transport compromises the quality of the shrimp, causing the Whale Sharks to frequently refuse the substandard food — leaving them in a state of hunger and even malnutrition.
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5. Tourists at Oslob Are Not Properly Educated on How to Interact with Wildlife
Republic Act 9147 explicitly states that hunting, selling, or harassing Whale Sharks is illegal. However, this policy is not being properly enforced in Oslob. Some tour operators do not inform visitors of the relevant rules and guidelines, nor do they emphasize why these animals need to be protected. This disregard for the law has made the situation increasingly difficult for the local Whale Sharks.
According to a survey by LAMAVE, researchers tallied physical contact between Whale Sharks and people, recording 1,823 incidents of touching during the study period, accumulating 3,849 minutes of contact. That works out to Whale Sharks being touched 29 times per hour, with the regulations being violated 97% of the time — and no penalties or oversight in place when violations occurred.
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An article titled "Five Reasons You Shouldn't Swim with Whale Sharks in Oslob" was shared widely several years ago. But in all the time since, have visitor numbers to Oslob actually declined? From what I've seen in my own circles, no.
Some people simply don't care. But I think a far larger portion just don't know. I often hear people come back and tell me, "I went swimming with Whale Sharks — they were so cool, but the water smelled terrible."
Most people have no idea what the feeding of Whale Sharks actually means. They don't know what it does to the sharks. All they know is that they need to be in the first group out by 8 a.m., because it gets less pleasant after that.
And yes — why does it get worse if you're not in the first group? Because the underwater environment is already in a pretty bad state. If you feel uncomfortable after just a few dozen minutes down there, think about how long these Whale Sharks — who no longer migrate because they're being fed — have to stay in those conditions.
From a conservation standpoint, this is truly a deeply inhumane situation. So why does it continue?
Looking at It from Another Angle
A recently published study (December 2018) examines how much economic benefit the Whale Shark swimming industry has brought to local fishermen. I've heard many people say — and I've told myself this too — "Living like that is still better than dying. If they didn't do the Whale Shark swimming activity, they would die. Better to let them live like this than not at all."
A dive company established in Oslob in 2011, after pivoting to Whale Shark tourism, attracted more than 75,000 visitors in its first five years. Ticket revenue reached US$1,840 — approximately NT$567 million.
Before the Whale Shark swimming model began, Oslob had long struggled with food insecurity, relying primarily on fishing. When strong currents prevented going out to sea, there was simply no income. Chronic overfishing and coral reef destruction had caused the food supply problem, and beyond hunger, a cascade of social issues followed — child labor, lack of healthcare, lack of education, and more. When survival is the priority, environmental concerns naturally take a back seat.
After whale shark ecotourism began, ecological changes were inevitable — but local fishermen came to understand that a living Whale Shark was worth far more than a dead one. The income generated by the sharks has helped lift the community out of poverty, providing more food, healthcare, education, and housing. It has also helped prevent coral reefs from being destroyed by destructive fishing practices.
Beyond protecting Whale Sharks, the revenue from this form of tourism has also funded infrastructure, sanitation, education, and social welfare programs in Ta-awan and Oslob, while supporting the management of five marine protected areas (MPAs).
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The Oslob Whale Shark tourism industry has clearly transformed the local economy — giving children the chance to go to school, to receive medical care, and simply to have enough to eat.
But what about the Whale Sharks? Because of the feeding, they are essentially trapped there. They no longer feed in any "normal" way. Their offspring cannot grow up in a place with sufficient food and safety. And the sharks themselves are not even getting enough to eat.
Nobody is really at fault. People doing what they must to survive is a deeply human thing. In a situation like this, education and management are the only real solutions — stricter regulation, teaching fishermen how to conduct ecotourism without altering animal behavior, and more comprehensive legislation. That is the only path toward sustainable Whale Shark ecotourism.
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The point of this article isn't to tell everyone to stop going to Oslob to see Whale Sharks. It's simply a reminder that every purchase we make is a vote for the kind of world we want. Choose operators with a good reputation and solid pre-trip education. Or consider going somewhere else entirely — like Donsol in the Philippines, or Ningaloo in Western Australia — places where you can time your visit to when the Whale Sharks naturally pass through. Let them grow up healthy, live well, and meet you in their finest form.
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Postscript: When I decided to go to Cebu last year, I was actually the first one to say I wanted to go to Oslob to see the Whale Sharks! But things didn't quite work out travel-wise, and my brother asked me, "Are you sure you want to go to Oslob to see them?"
I said, "Why wouldn't I? Of course I do — I absolutely love Whale Sharks."
"Do you really want the first Whale Shark you ever see in your life to be small and smelly?"
And that hit me. It genuinely hit me, right in the heart. I started researching everything related to Oslob Whale Shark tourism, and I even began looking for other places where I could see Whale Sharks — in a more respectful way.
I bought a Whale Shark-print swimsuit and went around pretending to be a Whale Shark myself XD
It might sound ridiculous, but whenever I finally get to see them, I want so badly to tell them: "I came to see you. I hope you're all healthy and thriving. Just knowing that you're doing well is more than enough for me."
References:
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Colman, J. (1997). A review of the biology and ecology of the whale shark. Journal of Fish Biology, 51(6), pp.1219-1234.
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Davis, D., Banks, S., Birtles, A., Valentine, P. and Cuthill, M. (1997). Whale sharks in Ningaloo Marine Park: managing tourism in an Australian marine protected area. Tourism Management, 18(5), pp.259-271.
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Lowe, J. and Tejada, J. (2019). The role of livelihoods in collective engagement in sustainable integrated coastal management: Oslob Whale Sharks. Ocean & Coastal Management, 170, pp.80-92.
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PHILIPPINES TRAVEL PACKAGES. (2019). Whale Sharks Tours in Oslob, Cebu Are a Crime Against Nature. [online] Available at: http://www.philippinestravelpackage.com/oslob/
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Thomson, J., Araujo, G., Labaja, J., McCoy, E., Murray, R. and Ponzo, A. (2019). Feeding the world's largest fish: highly variable whale shark residency patterns at a provisioning site in the Philippines.
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台灣環境資訊協會-環境資訊中心. (2019). 鯨鯊救了整個漁村 菲律賓Oslob的社區型生態旅遊. [online] Available at: https://e-info.org.tw/node/215879…
Further Reading:
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Why not Australia Facebook page
Cover photo: Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash. In-article photos: Photo by Hoang M Nguyen on Unsplash, Photo by Jake Gaviola on Unsplash, Photo by Michael Liao on Unsplash, Photo by @Matthew_T_Rader on Unsplash.
