Scubaism

Once hunted for its soft white meat, known throughout Southeast Asia as “tofu shark,” the whale shark is now protected and has transformed this sleepy corner of the Philippines 600 kilometres south east of Manila into a major eco-tourism centre.

Last year, almost 11,000 tourists visited Donsol, up from around 900 in 1998. Revenues from eco-tourism have risen to an estimated 12 million pesos ($A312,750), from 454,875 pesos ($A11,800) in the same period. The main attraction: whale shark watching.

Whale sharks have been a common sight in the waters off Donsol for as long as anyone here can remember, feasting on the rich plankton between January and June. Compared to some of the more developed areas for whale shark watching such as Ningaloo Reef off Western Australia, Donsol is still very cheap.

Korina Escudero, an underwater film maker and one of the original campaigners for the protection of the whale shark, can’t believe how tourism has completely changed the attitudes of the locals toward conservation.

“Villagers even managed to free two whale sharks that had been tied by their tails to coconut trees as they floundered in shallow water off a local beach,” said Escudero.

“You can still see them today off Donsol. They are easy to identify as they still have the rope around their tails. We call them Big Lucky and Little Lucky.”

One local fisherman said: “There was a time when the butanding was considered a pest. They would plough through our nets driving away smaller fish. Tourism has changed all that. Now we see the value in protecting them. Not only Filipinos but people from around the world come to swim with these giant fish.”