Oslob Whale Shark

4/13/20252 min read

black shark underwater photo
black shark underwater photo

High Expectations

When we saw the itinerary the travel agent had put together for the Philippines, whale shark watching and even swimming with them seemed to be a real highlight and something we have been looking forward to. We had thoughts of going out to sea and hoping to see and then snorkel close to them in their own habitat.

More recently as we've read up on it, we've both felt we probably wouldn't have picked this excursion if it wasn't included in the trip.

Don't Feed the Fish

Reading up on the history it seems, in Oslob local fisherman started feeding these sharks and found that meant the sharks stayed near the village harbour all year. The fisherman now feed them at a set time each day, and the sharks come closer to the shore for the food. The remainder of the day the sharks go out to sea still feeding in a traditional way. Before going out to watch them tourists are given strict guidelines such as not touching the sharks or getting too close. It has also meant the sharks are no longer fished and has provided a needed source of money for the village. Which all seems good, however the sharks were migratory and used to move during the year following their food. It's apparently when they are migrating that they breed. So it seems if the feeding practice continues eventually this group of shark will die out as they aren't breeding.

The Experience

On the day of our trip it was pretty clear that it wouldn't feel like a swim with sharks in wild experience. We went out in a canoe with around 10 people and there were probably 20 to 30 other boats out no more than 50 feet from the shore. The sharks are impressive and close, but they are just following smaller boats which they are being fed from. Basically going round the circle of tourist boats. We stayed on our boat rather than get in the water and I noticed a fair number of people on other boats doing the same.

Many of the tourists were really into the trip and enjoying it so the above is very much our view but even putting the ethics to one side the experience was disappointing. Some chose to ignore instructions and do try to get closer.

After this we had a trip to another island then headed back to the hotel.