Whale Shark Feeding: Whale Shark Feeding Controversy
March 13, 2013 by staff
Whale Shark Feeding: Whale Shark Feeding Controversy, A juvenile whale shark eats “uyap”, small shrimps, fed to it by a fisherman on a paddleboat off the beach of Tan-awan, in Oslo. Photo: Reuters
Tan-awan, in the southern Philippines island of Cebu, used to be a sleepy village that never saw tourists unless they were lost or in transit. Yet now they flock there by the hundreds – to swim with whale sharks, the world’s largest fish.
Whale sharks are lured to the Tan-awan coastline of the Oslob district by fishermen who hand feed them small shrimp, drawing divers and snorkelers to see the highly sought-after animals, known as gentle giants of the sea.
It looks like being in a zoo, a circus, looking at the animal walking up and down being fed. This is not a natural behaviour that you see.
But the practice has sparked fierce debate on the internet and among biologists, who decry it as unnatural.
A snorkeller swims next to a whale shark as it is fed from a feeder boat off the beach of Tan-awan, Oslob. Photo: Reuters
“Some people are asking that we stop feeding, but if we stop feeding, what is our livelihood?” said Ramonito Lagahid, vice chairman of the Tan-awan Oslob Sea Warden and Fishermen Association (TOSWFA). “We have to go back to fishing.”
_________________________________________
Please feel free to send if you have any questions regarding this post , you can contact on
Disclaimer: The views expressed on this site are that of the authors and not necessarily that of U.S.S.POST.
Comments