Action Asia - February-March 2018

35

March/April 2018 —

PRACTICALITIES

When to go

March to October is best when the waters

are at their calmest. Dolphin trips begin at

7a.m. and end around 5p.m.

How to get there

Fly to Dumaguete from Manila. There you

can hire a van to take you to Bais, leaving

at 5a.m. in time for that day’s sailing and

returning to Dumaguete by 6p.m. The

town offers other attractions too with

excellent diving at Apo Island, forays to the

mysterious island of Siquijor, and trips into

the mountainous interior of Negros itself.

Contacts

Ricky Soler runs Bais City Dolphin Watching

Adventures, email: [email protected]

Wherever you go to see cetaceans, remember

to observe these simple rules when

interacting with them:

• Let cetaceans approach your boat. Do not
  chase them.


• Stay at least 100 metres away from larger
  whales, such as baleen or sperm whales.


• Always leave cetaceans an avenue of
  escape. Boats should stay together to
  avoid boxing them in.


• Stay with the animals for no more than an
  hour.


• Keep your voices low, don’t shout.


• Never attempt to touch or feed cetaceans
  or any other wild animals.

no-nonsense implementation of our fisheries and
environmental laws to protect marine ecosystems
and resources. This ensures that our beloved
dolphins will always have food to eat, while
protecting the livelihoods of our coastal residents.
When done right, tourism is solid proof that
many animals are worth more alive than dead.”

The pod
Thirty minutes after the Captain’s prayer,
we’re swapping tales over breakfast, eyes only
occasionally flicking across the horizon in cursory
search of our quarry. I’m talking with a Marine
Corps officer about his adventures in Mindanao
when the captain points to a seemingly empty
patch of sea, abuzz with red-necked phalaropes, a
species of small wader. “There! Look at the birds!”
Just over a kilometre off, blue water begins to
churn under the circling phalaropes. In seconds,
half-a-dozen people are scrambling for their
cameras, breakfast forgotten.
Our boat approaches the site – a roiling,
bubbling mass, seabirds squawking overhead. “It
is a bait-ball, a giant school of sardines or other
small fish driven up from the depths,” explains
one of our boatmen. By its fringes I note dark,
triangular dorsal fins. Dolphins. Dozens of them.
Suddenly, they start jumping. ‘Ooohs’ and
‘ahhhs’ fill the air, along with claps and cheers.
I grin as I catch myself clapping along with
everyone else. I’ve been watching dolphins for
years and it’s like this every time.
The Tañon Strait’s biggest stars are in
action: spinner dolphins, distinguished by their
elongated snouts and crazy, acrobatic leaps.
Some somersault, while the real show-offs throw

corkscrews, spinning two or even three times

before landing.

After a few frenzied minutes, Captain

Reynaldo shouts the words we’ve been waiting

for all morning. “Pygmy sperm whales!” Far less

showy than the spinners, their appearance is more

significant for they are rarely spotted at all.

Drawn to the commotion, a pair have come

to snap up what the dolphins missed. We don’t

approach, staying the prescribed 100 metres from

larger whales. I snap shots as fast as I can but

they’re too far out. Remembering a scene from

‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’, I exhale and –

reluctantly at first – lower my camera. I remind

myself that often the best memories are recorded

with our eyes, not a lens. After a magical minute,

they’re gone.

Soon three more boats arrive and we turn

back towards Bais to let other visitors enjoy. As I

watch them jostling for prime selfie spots on their

boats, I recall studies that suggest that cetaceans

have exhibited numerous behavioral changes

because of more frequent interaction with boats.

It’s a dilemma: how much is too much? Whale

watching – a global industry worth over US$2

billion annually – supports cetacean conservation.

But right across the strait from Bais is the town

of Oslob on Cebu which has drawn flak for the

townsfolk’s practice of feeding whale sharks, and

the frenzy of boats that crowd the animals.

Such examples have informed the code of

conduct used in Bais which seems to be working

for now. Still we need to be stay vigilant for

unintended consequences of our interest in

cetaceans. Done right, we get a whale of a tale to

tell of an encounter that all profited from. AA