Philippines, Cebu 菲律賓 宿霧

Fisherman and Whale Shark (漁人與鯨鯊) @ Oslob, Cebu, Philippines (菲律賓 宿霧 歐斯陸)

Oslob is a small municipality in the southern tip of Cebu Island, Philippines. It encompasses 21 barangays (villages), including Tan-awan, where the whale shark feeding occurs. In the 1980s, whale shark hunting was prevalent in the Philippines and researchers recorded at least 627 individuals killed over seven years in the Bohol Sea. Luckily for the whale sharks, the Philippines become one of the first countries in the world to protect them in 1998, by prohibiting the capture, sale, transport or export of whale sharks.
In Tan-awan, the fishermen discovered that they could lead the whale sharks away from fishing boats by luring them with small amounts of sergestid shrimps (locally known as uyap). A dive center owner discovered this and paid the fishermen to lure the whale sharks towards his guests instead of away. The news spread by word of mouth and many people started visiting Oslob to see the whale sharks.
In the beginning, there were no regulations in place for the feeding and the conditions were chaotic and dangerous (for both man and shark). Since then, there have been many new regulations made with regards to the interaction, including a standard briefing as well as a new schedule of fees and visitor guidelines.
鯨鯊是世界上體型最大的魚類，在台灣俗稱「豆腐鯊」。儘管早已被列為是保育類動物，但盜捕行為盛行，市面仍然可見的「鯊魚煙」，即是由鯨鯊製成。
歐斯陸本來是個位於菲律賓宿霧南方的小漁村，但從2011年起，卻靠著鯨鯊賺進大把觀光財。當地漁民使用誘餌來吸引鯨鯊到沿岸供遊客及潛水客觀賞，每日清晨都會聚集許多鯨鯊來報到。從那時起，許多來自全球各地的觀光客，紛紛慕名而來，到此浮潛或潛水與鯊共游。現在歐斯陸的漁民不再捕漁，全靠鯨鯊生態旅遊維生。
發展觀光來取代殺戮，不但可以保育我們美麗的海洋，甚至還能創造比餐桌上的海鮮高出數百倍的產值。

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