Members of the Philippine Oceans Campaigner Greenpeace Southeast Asia, along with the Inter-Mountaineering Society and Ocean Defenders distribute and attach “bandaritas” to the PUJ drivers to campaign protection on the sharks at the Ayala Terminal. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
“It is only in Malapascua where thresher sharks are as easy to find as Nemo.”
Gary Cases, marine biologist and Malapasuca resort owner, shared his experience of shark tourism in a talk before tourism students in the University of Cebu (UC) Banilad yesterday.
Malapascua island of Daanbantayan town in northern Cebu is famous in local and international diving circles because of the presence of thresher sharks which frequent the Monad Shoal daily.
This species does not attack humans, he said.
Sharks are hunted around the world for their meat, fins and liver oil. Cebu province is the only local government in the country that bans the killing and sale of thresher sharks in ordinance.
Sharks are a “vulnerable” species with a slow growth cycle, reproduce late in life and have few offspring, said Margot Stiles of Oceana, an international marine conservation group.
Other speakers in the forum were Liza Osorio of the Philippine Earth Justice Center, blogger Edwin Castillon, and Loy Madrigal of the Capitol’s illegal fishing taskforce. Golly Ramos, Oceana vice president, said sharks are slaughtered in Cebu as a cheap source of meat for fishballs and tempura when they are more valuable alive for eco-tourism and marine biodiversity.
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