New study redefines provisioning in marine wildlife tourism
Philippines, 29 June 2021, A new study by researchers from the Southern Shark Ecology Group at Flinders University, James Cook University and Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines, amongst others, has reviewed the current use of provisioning-associated terminology within the marine wildlife tourism sector and has proposed to reclassify provisioning into Feeding, Attracting and Modifying habitat.
Read MoreNew study finds that working in wildlife tourism can act as an incentive for the conservation of marine species
Philippines. 22 March 2021, A new study by researchers from the University of Victoria (CA) and Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines has found that working in wildlife tourism can act as an incentive for the conservation of marine species. Community-based whale shark tourism workers had more protectionist views, recognising the inherent value of wildlife, and were more likely to report positive changes in their attitudes and behaviours to protect whale sharks.
Read MoreLong term study reveals no improvement in the impact of the whale shark tourism in Oslob, Philippines over 6 years
A new study by researchers from the Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE) and published in the journal Royal Society Open Science show the continuous impacts of provisioning (hand feeding) on the behavior of whale sharks in Oslob, Philippines and how the tourism industry is failing to comply with regulations to protect this endangered species.
Read MoreHand-feeding of endangered whale sharks in Oslob, Cebu changes diving behaviour and raises concerns over implications to their health
Philippines, 13 October 2020, A new study published in Scientific Reports finds that resident whale sharks have changed their diving behaviour in response to the hand-feeding activities (provisioning) used to attract the animals in the waters of barangay Tan-Awan, Oslob, Cebu, to allow tourism interaction. The study further investigates how these changes could have implications on the bioenergetics (flow and transformation of energy) of individual whale sharks frequently visiting the mass tourism site.
Read MoreLack of management intervention leads to increased injuries on endangered whale sharks in Oslob, Cebu, Philippines
Oslob Cebu, 8 October 2020. A new study published by LAMAVE in the journal Aquatic Conservation, Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems this week, present the results of some of the work conducted since 2012 to assess the impacts of tourism activities on individual whale sharks in Oslob, Cebu
Read MoreEcotourism Transforms Attitudes to marine conservation
A study has shown how ecotourism in the Philippines has transformed people’s attitudes towards marine conservation. Researchers from LAMAVE and University of Victoria in Canada visited three sites where tourists pay to swim with whale sharks in the wild. They interviewed a range of locals who work for the tour operators in Oslob, Donsol and Pintuyan, including fishers and ex-whale shark hunters.
Read MoreControlling a whale shark mass tourism destination: new study investigates crowding and tourist expectations
A new scientific study by Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE) and the University of Victoria (Canada) reveals that overcrowding is a significant issue for Oslob whale shark watching tours. The study presents management interventions aimed at improving the tourist experience and recommends reducing tourist numbers to 500 daily visitors….
Read MoreWhale sharks: what science reveals
We round up eight years of LAMAVE’s research on the iconic whale shark. The whale shark – also called butanding, tuki, tiki tiki, tawiki in local dialects - is a national icon of the Philippines. As we reach the end of 2019 and almost 8 years since LAMAVE first started studying whale sharks in the Philippines, we round up what we have learnt about these incredible sharks…
Read MoreA new study reveals the impacts of whale shark mass tourism on the coral reefs in Oslob, Cebu, Philippines.
The collaborative research among the University of Hong Kong (HKU), the University of Guam (UoG), and the Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE) shows that whale shark tourism in Tan-awan, Oslob, Philippines has led to degradation of the local coral reef ecosystem…
Read MoreThe Guilty Pleasure of Swimming with Hand-fed Whale Sharks
Scientific study reveals tourist perspectives on the ethics of feeding whale sharks in Oslob, Philippines. Two-thirds of TripAdvisor comments that mentioned ethical issues were classified as “Guilty Pleasure”, whereby the tourists were aware of the moral and ethical issues of feeding an endangered species for tourism purposes, but still chose to do the tour and recommended it to others…
Read MoreFeeding the world largest fish: impact of provisioning on whale shark presence and migration
A new paper from the Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines and the Centre for Integrative Ecology of Deakin University in Australia describes the effect of provisioning (attracting wildlife with food to facilitate human interaction) on the presence and migratory behaviour of the whale shark in Oslob, Cebu, Philippines.
Read MoreDonsol whale shark guides call for no feeding of wildlife
Today sees the release of the fourth campaign film from Their Future Our Future - this one starring the Butanding Interaction Officers (BIOs) and tourism staff of Donsol, Sorsogon, the Philippines first whale shark tourism destination. Their message is clear “Do not feed wildlife”.
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