Friday November 21, 2008. 11:13

Whales in Moalboal and Santander, Philippines

Whales (cetaceans) are seen quite regularly in deep water areas around the Central Visayas and northern Mindanao, in the Sulu Sea, around northern Palawan, in the Davao Gulf and in the Balintang and Bashi Channels near the Batanes. In the Tañon Strait (body of water in between Cebu Is and Negros Is), whales have been spotted lingering around deep water fish lures (payaw) and around areas where commercial fishing is taking place. In the seas between Bohol and Camiguin, they are often seen in water 2000 meter deep. Here you find an updated list with the latest whale sightings in Moalboal and Santander. Some dive centers in Moalboal and Santander work together in recording these sightings.

Recent scientific studies on marine mammals, conducted by Louella Dolar, Moonyeen Alva, Colin Wood, Steve Leatherwood and other researchers of Silliman University in Dumaguete, point out that at least 18 and possibly up to 27 species of cetaceans are found in the Philippines. This is astonishing diversity. Although some balen species are present only in certain season, many toothed whale species appear to be resident and can be observed all year round. In fact, some of these species, e.g., Fraser's dolphin, have been seen more frequently in Philippine waters than anywhere else in the world.

Deforestation has led to massive run off that has filled estuaries and rivers. Finless porpoises, one plentiful in the rivers of Northern Mindanao, have all disappeared. Many of the great estuaries that once served as their homes and larders have been overwhelmed by run off victims of the logger's ax. Every ear a flood of rorquals enter Philippine waters to feed off it's plankton - rich waters. They face growing competition for food supplies. Alamang (krill) and (Dilis), eaten fresh or as a heavily salted paste, have long been staples in the filipino diet. This is the same food eaten by baleen whales. The survival of these and other species of fish depend, to a large extent, on human management. If local fishermen overfish, or destroy fish stocks by use of cyanide and dynamite, or eliminate fish spawning and breeding areas such as swamps and shallow water estuaries, replacing them indiscriminately with fish or prawn ponds - humans will pay the price. So will whales.

In other parts of the world, dolphins face growing hazards from yellow fin tuna fisheries. The deep sea tuna fishery in the Eastern Pacific continues to cause the death of hundreds of thousands of spinner, spotted and common dolphins. Tuna fishermen follow dolphins because they know from experience that tuna often swim beneath them. Currently, this is one of the biggest threats. The simple gill net, a device that has been around for thousands of years, kills thousands of dolphins every year. This is especially true for dolphins and porpoises that live in murky water, whose teeth, beaks or fins snag on the mesh and promptly drown.

Dolphins also face continued threats from drift nets. Drift nets, those invisible fences that hang across miles of ocean, have captured hundreds of thousands of whales, dolphins and birds in recent years. They run into the fine mono filament nets and drown. In a study on drift nets conducted in 1987 off Canada, ninety marine mammals and five hundred seabirds where killed in a 2 month period. It is estimated that as much as 25,000 miles of drift nets are set in the Northern Pacific each year. Conservative estimates suggest that more than 60,000 marine mammals and 250,000 seabirds died in the North Pacific in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a result of drift nets. These estimates are for the North Pacific alone. Drift nets are used all over the world. Japan, Taiwan and South Korea - all neighbors of the Philippines - were some of the main users of drift netting on the high seas in the 1990s. Although a United Nations resolution has ended most large - scale drift net fisheries, much work remains to be done before a complete halt can be assured.

With the coming of whale watching in the Philippines, it is hoped that the living whales will now be perceived as having greater value than dead whales. Whale and dolphin fisheries must, of course, be stopped. A ten year old skipjack tuna can produce two million eggs in a single 90 day spawning season. In comparison, a female dolphin that lives up to 35 years may give birth to only a dozen young. In the long run, however, the greatest danger that faces whales in the Philippine waters lies, not from hunting, but from the ongoing destruction of their ecological support systems and increasing competition for their food supply.

Whale watching can be allot of fun. It can be done from land, sea or air, depending on how close the whales or dolphins are to shore and how much money you are willing to spend looking for them. Your chances of seeing a whale or dolphins are best, of course, when the seas are flat. Agitated seas, high winds, excessive glare or haze make it more difficult to see them. More often than not, whale watchers will get little more than a brief glimpse of cetacean's back. You may spot them from afar, their regular blows giving away their location. They may even linger on the surface as you approach. However, the minute your boat gets to close for comfort, most whales will probably do a terminal dive and get as far away from you as they can.

"Please don't allow the whales and dolphine to become extinct without lifting a finger" If you know anyone trading in whale and dolphine products, please call Eyes and Ears hotline: 0 - 6973 - 2220 - 1, 0 - 2579 - 6886 or contact: P.O. Box 313 Prakanong Post office, Bangkok 101 10, Thailand. www.wildasia.org

These whale and dolphin pictures are all taken in Cebu and adjacent areas. They are copyright products of the photgrapher and may not be used for commercial purposes. These pictures are taken by Jesper Nyqvist, Peter Lönnblad and Lars Persson who have visit us over the years. Please follow this link for some pictures of whales.

Among the toothed whales, following have been observed:
• Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus)
• Pygmy Sperm Whales (Kogia breviceps)
• Dwarf Sperm Whales (Kogia Simus)
• Blainville's Beaked Whales (Mesoplodon densirostris)
• Rough - Toothed Dolphins (Steno bredanensis)
• Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)
• Spinner Dolphins (Stenella Longirostratis)
• Spotted Dolphins (Stenella attenuata)
• Fraser's Dolphins (Lagenodelphis hosei)
• Risso's Dolphins (Grampus Griseus)
• Melon - Headed Whales (Peponocephalla electra)
• Pygmy Killer Whales (Geresa attentuata)
• Short - finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus)
• Finless Porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides)
• Killer Whales (Orcinus orca)

It is thought that a number of other toothed whale species could be expected here but have not been reported yet. These include:
• Southern Bottlenose Whales (Hyperoodon planifrons)
• Ginkgo - toothed Beaked Whales (Mesoplodon ginkgodens)
• Indo - Pacific Humpbacked Dolphins (Sousa chinensis)
• Striped Dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba)
• Common Dolphins (Delphinus delphis)
• False Killer Whales (Pseudorca crassidens)
• Cuvier's Beaked Whales (Ziphius cavirostris)
• Irrawaddy Dolphin (Orcaella Brevirostris)

Among the baleen whales, the following have been observed:
• Bryde's Whales (Balaenoptera edeni)
• Mink Whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)
• Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)

Unconfirmed sightings have been made of:
• Blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus)
• Bottlenose Whales (Hyperoodon sp)