WHALESHARKS/JULY 11,2016
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared Rhincodon typus (WHALE SHARK)
as an endagered just last weekend.(CDN PHOTO/FERDINAND R. EDRALIN)
The Oslob Municipal Government and Cebu Provincial Government are eyeing to limit the number of visitors who come for the town’s whale-shark (butanding) watching activities.
A stakeholders meeting, together with representatives from the Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 and the Provincial Tourism Office (PTO), was conducted this afternoon in order to brief locals of Oslob town on the said plan.
Before the implementation, a technical working group (TWG) will be formed that will assess the situation in the seas surrounding Barangay Tan-awan, the area where the whale-sharks can be found.
Provincial Tourism Officer Joselito Costas said the TWG will determine the carrying capacity, policy measures on wildlife viewing or interaction, among others.
“We still can’t give a timeline because we are still convening the TWG after its creation. We want these things (done) before December,” Costas said.
According to the tourism office of Oslob, an average of 1,000 local and foreign tourists are recorded in the area.