ナショナルジオグラフィックのインスタグラム(natgeo) - 8月31日 10時25分

Photo by @jenniferhayesig | Today is whale shark day. Excited tourists observe a whale shark that has surfaced to eat a handful of krill from a guide in a small wooden outrigger near Oslo, in the Philippines. Each day hundreds of people journey to this small seaside village to watch and swim with these gentle filter feeding giants. Operations begin at 6 am and cease at 12:30 after which the whale sharks descend into the depths and the tourists melt away. The encounter begins with an orientation about whale sharks and a set of approach rules that include keeping 5 meters from head, no touching, chasing or blocking. Long lines of tourists form as they wait for a paddler to guide a small group through the offshore loop of boats for a 30 minute experience with the sharks. The practice of feeding (provisioning) the animals with handfuls of krill is highly controversial. Supporters maintain that the whale sharks have a historic presence here and can come and go; that the practice has broadly increased the local standard of living by providing employment to fisherman and decreasing the local fishing pressure; and that the sharks have become ocean ambassadors introducing thousands to marine life, increasing ocean awareness and hopefully stewardship. On the other hand, many conservation groups and scientists recognizes that this tourism may come at a cost to the whale sharks. Research suggests that feeding modifies their natural behavior through longer residency with an unknown impact of retained congregations on their local food resources, social structure, migration, reproduction and overall health. Whale sharks, once a heavily targeted fishery in the Philippines and Taiwan, are now protected in both countries and are endangered, but remain at risk of poaching and are actively fished in China and other countries for the lucrative shark fin trade. These giants are the world’s largest fish but much of their biology still remains a mystery as their populations decline around the planet. // From @ナショナルジオグラフィック assignment Philippines, An Ocean Nation // #WhaleSharkday #Ocean #Philippines #Shark #Ecotourism #OceanConservation #CoralTriangle for #MoreOcean follow @JenniferHayesig

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