Big Fish Off Camiguin and Macajalar Bay
Mike Banos
May 22, 2006
Of the five known cetacean areas in the Philippines, one of the most promising is the Bohol-Camiguin-Siquijor Triangle just off the north coast of Mindanao. Around Camiguin island alone, sightings of four species of dolphins and four species of whales have been confirmed.
However, aside from these marine mammals, nature has also been unusually generous to this island since the world's greatest fishes including the great whale shark and other true pelagics like marlins, tunas, and manta rays are also found here. To top it off, exotic marine life such as the great napoleon wrasse, leatherback, hawksbill and green turtles have also been sighted.
The increasing trend towards eco-tourism has brought to fore the great potential for ecotourism presented by this unique gathering of the world's greatest marine animals around one island.
Residents and visitors to Camiguin can observe the Risso's Dolphin (locally known as kabang), Bottlenose Dolphin (lumod) Long-Snouted Spinner Dolphin (lumba-lumba) and Fraser's Dolphin (mayahon) first-hand starting with the hour-long ferry trip to the island from Balingoan municipal wharf in Misamis Oriental when the frolicking dolphins often escort the ferries by riding on their bow wave.
Serious whale watchers will have to venture further out in either live-aboard dive boats or dedicated whale watching vessels. Those lucky enough may see a Bryde's whale, locally known as bongkaras, closer offshore in Sagay municipality. A juvenile of this species which can grow up to 14 meters (46 feet) long, has also been sighted by divers near Sipaka Point in Talisayan, Misamis Oriental in waters as shallow as 12 meters.
Further offshore eastern Camiguin, sightings of smaller melon-headed whales (2.6-2.7 meters/9 ft.) and pygmy killer whales (2.2-2.7 meters/7-9 ft.), both also locally known as lumod, (most probably due to their close resemblance to the bottle-nose dolphin) have also been confirmed.
Those who wish to catch a glimpse of the great sperm whale or balyena, made famous by Herman Melville's immortal classic Moby Dick, and the primary of target of the Yankee whalers when they prowled the Philippine seas during the 1800s, have to venture further offshore in the seas between Bohol and Camiguin.
Largest of all the toothed whales or Odontoceti, adult male sperm whales grow up to over 18 meters (59 ft) in length. They are the world's most abundant whales but are not as frequently sighted as the more extensively distributed killer whale since they prefer to stay in deeper waters, most often in the 6,000 feet range.
Another magnificent spectacle, albeit more accessible, is the great whale shark, variously known locally as the tawiki, balelan, tuki, or tuki-tuki, which is the very same butanding made famous by Donsol, Sorsogon. It is the world's largest fish, a shark that's literally the size of a whale (hence the name, despite the fact that it's a fish, not a mammal). It grows up to 15-meters in length and can weight over 20 tons.
Despite its formidable size, the whale shark is harmless to man and primarily feeds on plankton. It simply drifts slowly along near the surface with its mouth wide open filtering plankton-laden water through its huge gill slits. Everything -- from minute crustaceans, to baitfish, to small tuna -- is scooped into its gigantic maw as it pans the seas for food -- an effective, if simple, approach to survival.
Whale sharks are found throughout Asia, but in most areas sightings are random chance. Little is known about their movements or migrations, but they seem to be attracted to certain “hot spots” where plankton and nutrients reach high concentrations near the surface. In the Philippines, besides the famous show boaters of Donsol, whale sharks have also been spotted in Albay and Masbate in Luzon, off Moalboal, Cebu and Pamilacan, Bohol in the Visayas and Sarangani Bay in Mindanao.
One such location is the Camiguin Channel between the island of the same name and the coastline of Misamis Oriental province from Talisayan to Libertad towns. Every year from late February to early May, the great fish gathers to feed on krill or alamang, and pidlayan or tuna fry or fingerlings, which clouds the waters during the brief season.
Many theories have been put forward about the periodic proliferation of krill in this area, among them being that they feed on seaweeds made more abundant by fertilizer leached from the plantations and farms of Bukidnon and washed downstream by the rivers that feed Macajalar Bay and the Camiguin Channel.
Unfortunately, an indigenous whaling fishery originating mostly from the Misamis Oriental town of Talisayan hunted juvenile whale sharks (between 5-7 meters long and 4-5 tons in weight) since the 1950s and were later reinforced by whalers from Pamilacan islet and Lila town in Bohol who were forced to hunt young whale sharks instead after being displaced by the international whaling ban. An average of 100 juveniles were landed every year until the government banned the killing and trafficking of whale shark fins and meat.
Approximately 4,000 whale sharks were landed by the industry in the 40 years of its existence (which learned observes say is vastly under reported). This was even a greater kill rate than the estimated 7,000 whales killed in Philippine waters by Yankee whalers during their approximately 100 years of whaling here.
Following the whale shark ban, the whale shark hunters from sitio Giwanon have instead borrowed a page from Sorsogon and are now setting up whale watching services from Talisayan. Being plankton feeders, whale sharks usually feed near the surface of the water and are usually easily visible even from fishermen's skiffs and pumpboats, making them ideal subjects for whale watching. Together with the dolphins and whales of Camiguin, these marine leviathans should provide whale watchers more than enough subjects to sustain a locally-based whale-watching industry.
Training and equipping local fisherfolk for whale watching could take some time and require some very serious capital. In Ningaloo Reef, off northwester Australia, which has lately caught the attention of the international diving community because of its high strike rate, spotting the whale sharks is a high-tech affair.
Ningaloo reef being the larges fringing reef in the world, spotter planes are often needed to locate the whale sharks over such a wide area. The whale sharks usually swim near the surface, and when one is spotted, its location is radioed to the dive-boat so that it can drop divers and snorkellers as close as possible to the shark for the ultimate in big fish diving.
Such sophistication may not be necessary in the Philippine context, however, due to the presence of native whale spotters. In his book, “A Field Guide to Whale and Dolphin Watching in the Philippines", author Lory Tan reports about the native spotters of Pamilican Island who can spot whales faster than people equipped with binoculars.
Composed of some 10 families where the skill has been handed down from generation to generation, they can also tell you where a whale is next going to surface and when. The author says that recent research seem to indicate that spotters may also be found in Siaton, Negros and Camiguin.
Another curiosity found in Macajalar Bay is the very rare Megamouth shark (Megachasma pelagios). Since Nov. 15, 1976, when it was first discovered by the U.S. Navy in Hawaii, only 35 landings of this fish have been made all over the globe, and six of these were in the Philippines. Of the six in the Philippines, four were landed in Macajalar Bay! (The others being in Tigbauan, Iloilo and Bayawan, Dumaguete).
The latest megamouth landing (No.35) and fourth in Macajalar Bay was made March 12, 2006 in Barra, Macabalan enmeshed in a fisherman’s gill net. Even more may have already been landed in the past along Camiguin channel since the whale shark hunters of Talisayan call it tanguy-tanguy (after a local species of mushroom, since its meat apparently shrinks like a mushroom after it is cut up) and claim to have caught quite a number in the past since they usually feed alongside whale sharks, both being plankton feeders.
Besides whale-watching dolphins, whales and whale sharks, big-game fishing and big fish diving are alternative ecotourism projects which can draw in big-paying foreign tourists as well as provide local fisher folk with alternative means of livelihood even more profitable than whale-shark hunting.
A Department of Agriculture fisheries division report says some 45 of 54 major species of Philippine fishes are found in nearby Macabalan Bay which is contiguous with Camiguin channel and seas around Camiguin. Already, some local resort operators have started providing their pleasure boats with big game fishing gear.
Local diver Roel Uy, who runs a dive resort in Balingoan, Misamis Oriental (an hour and a half drive from Cagayan de Oro where you take the ferry to Camiguin) said the waters off Camiguin and Macajalar Bay abound with barracuda, jacks, wahoo, skipjack (bonito or tulingan)and tangigue.
He says the best time to go after these big fish is around November to April which is the schooling season for tamban, bolinao and malangsi although barracuda, jacks and tanguige are usually found in these waters all year round.
Big fish diving along the Camiguin channel and around Camiguin island could also give other more popular Philippine big fish diving destinations such as the Tubbataha Reefs in the Sulu Sea, Southwest Miniloc in El Nido, Lighthouse Point in Cabilao Island near Bohol and Yapak in Boracay Island a run for their money.
Mario Jugador, who heads the dive tours in Uy’s resort, recommends no less than 14 dive sites along the coast of Misamis Oriental and around Camiguin island which offer guaranteed sightings of true pelagics such as marlins, tunas, and manta rays as well as large reef and shoreline dwellers like barracuda, jacks, eagle rays, stingrays, surgeon fish, red snappers, groupers, turtles, sweetlips and the occasional reef shark.
But for those who pursue diving with big fish with a passion, nothing beats an encounter with a tawiki or whale shark. It's still up there at the top of the list of unforgettable underwater experiences.
I N D N J C ****
However, aside from these marine mammals, nature has also been unusually generous to this island since the world's greatest fishes including the great whale shark and other true pelagics like marlins, tunas, and manta rays are also found here. To top it off, exotic marine life such as the great napoleon wrasse, leatherback, hawksbill and green turtles have also been sighted.
The increasing trend towards eco-tourism has brought to fore the great potential for ecotourism presented by this unique gathering of the world's greatest marine animals around one island.
Residents and visitors to Camiguin can observe the Risso's Dolphin (locally known as kabang), Bottlenose Dolphin (lumod) Long-Snouted Spinner Dolphin (lumba-lumba) and Fraser's Dolphin (mayahon) first-hand starting with the hour-long ferry trip to the island from Balingoan municipal wharf in Misamis Oriental when the frolicking dolphins often escort the ferries by riding on their bow wave.
Serious whale watchers will have to venture further out in either live-aboard dive boats or dedicated whale watching vessels. Those lucky enough may see a Bryde's whale, locally known as bongkaras, closer offshore in Sagay municipality. A juvenile of this species which can grow up to 14 meters (46 feet) long, has also been sighted by divers near Sipaka Point in Talisayan, Misamis Oriental in waters as shallow as 12 meters.
Further offshore eastern Camiguin, sightings of smaller melon-headed whales (2.6-2.7 meters/9 ft.) and pygmy killer whales (2.2-2.7 meters/7-9 ft.), both also locally known as lumod, (most probably due to their close resemblance to the bottle-nose dolphin) have also been confirmed.
Those who wish to catch a glimpse of the great sperm whale or balyena, made famous by Herman Melville's immortal classic Moby Dick, and the primary of target of the Yankee whalers when they prowled the Philippine seas during the 1800s, have to venture further offshore in the seas between Bohol and Camiguin.
Largest of all the toothed whales or Odontoceti, adult male sperm whales grow up to over 18 meters (59 ft) in length. They are the world's most abundant whales but are not as frequently sighted as the more extensively distributed killer whale since they prefer to stay in deeper waters, most often in the 6,000 feet range.
Another magnificent spectacle, albeit more accessible, is the great whale shark, variously known locally as the tawiki, balelan, tuki, or tuki-tuki, which is the very same butanding made famous by Donsol, Sorsogon. It is the world's largest fish, a shark that's literally the size of a whale (hence the name, despite the fact that it's a fish, not a mammal). It grows up to 15-meters in length and can weight over 20 tons.
Despite its formidable size, the whale shark is harmless to man and primarily feeds on plankton. It simply drifts slowly along near the surface with its mouth wide open filtering plankton-laden water through its huge gill slits. Everything -- from minute crustaceans, to baitfish, to small tuna -- is scooped into its gigantic maw as it pans the seas for food -- an effective, if simple, approach to survival.
Whale sharks are found throughout Asia, but in most areas sightings are random chance. Little is known about their movements or migrations, but they seem to be attracted to certain “hot spots” where plankton and nutrients reach high concentrations near the surface. In the Philippines, besides the famous show boaters of Donsol, whale sharks have also been spotted in Albay and Masbate in Luzon, off Moalboal, Cebu and Pamilacan, Bohol in the Visayas and Sarangani Bay in Mindanao.
One such location is the Camiguin Channel between the island of the same name and the coastline of Misamis Oriental province from Talisayan to Libertad towns. Every year from late February to early May, the great fish gathers to feed on krill or alamang, and pidlayan or tuna fry or fingerlings, which clouds the waters during the brief season.
Many theories have been put forward about the periodic proliferation of krill in this area, among them being that they feed on seaweeds made more abundant by fertilizer leached from the plantations and farms of Bukidnon and washed downstream by the rivers that feed Macajalar Bay and the Camiguin Channel.
Unfortunately, an indigenous whaling fishery originating mostly from the Misamis Oriental town of Talisayan hunted juvenile whale sharks (between 5-7 meters long and 4-5 tons in weight) since the 1950s and were later reinforced by whalers from Pamilacan islet and Lila town in Bohol who were forced to hunt young whale sharks instead after being displaced by the international whaling ban. An average of 100 juveniles were landed every year until the government banned the killing and trafficking of whale shark fins and meat.
Approximately 4,000 whale sharks were landed by the industry in the 40 years of its existence (which learned observes say is vastly under reported). This was even a greater kill rate than the estimated 7,000 whales killed in Philippine waters by Yankee whalers during their approximately 100 years of whaling here.
Following the whale shark ban, the whale shark hunters from sitio Giwanon have instead borrowed a page from Sorsogon and are now setting up whale watching services from Talisayan. Being plankton feeders, whale sharks usually feed near the surface of the water and are usually easily visible even from fishermen's skiffs and pumpboats, making them ideal subjects for whale watching. Together with the dolphins and whales of Camiguin, these marine leviathans should provide whale watchers more than enough subjects to sustain a locally-based whale-watching industry.
Training and equipping local fisherfolk for whale watching could take some time and require some very serious capital. In Ningaloo Reef, off northwester Australia, which has lately caught the attention of the international diving community because of its high strike rate, spotting the whale sharks is a high-tech affair.
Ningaloo reef being the larges fringing reef in the world, spotter planes are often needed to locate the whale sharks over such a wide area. The whale sharks usually swim near the surface, and when one is spotted, its location is radioed to the dive-boat so that it can drop divers and snorkellers as close as possible to the shark for the ultimate in big fish diving.
Such sophistication may not be necessary in the Philippine context, however, due to the presence of native whale spotters. In his book, “A Field Guide to Whale and Dolphin Watching in the Philippines", author Lory Tan reports about the native spotters of Pamilican Island who can spot whales faster than people equipped with binoculars.
Composed of some 10 families where the skill has been handed down from generation to generation, they can also tell you where a whale is next going to surface and when. The author says that recent research seem to indicate that spotters may also be found in Siaton, Negros and Camiguin.
Another curiosity found in Macajalar Bay is the very rare Megamouth shark (Megachasma pelagios). Since Nov. 15, 1976, when it was first discovered by the U.S. Navy in Hawaii, only 35 landings of this fish have been made all over the globe, and six of these were in the Philippines. Of the six in the Philippines, four were landed in Macajalar Bay! (The others being in Tigbauan, Iloilo and Bayawan, Dumaguete).
The latest megamouth landing (No.35) and fourth in Macajalar Bay was made March 12, 2006 in Barra, Macabalan enmeshed in a fisherman’s gill net. Even more may have already been landed in the past along Camiguin channel since the whale shark hunters of Talisayan call it tanguy-tanguy (after a local species of mushroom, since its meat apparently shrinks like a mushroom after it is cut up) and claim to have caught quite a number in the past since they usually feed alongside whale sharks, both being plankton feeders.
Besides whale-watching dolphins, whales and whale sharks, big-game fishing and big fish diving are alternative ecotourism projects which can draw in big-paying foreign tourists as well as provide local fisher folk with alternative means of livelihood even more profitable than whale-shark hunting.
A Department of Agriculture fisheries division report says some 45 of 54 major species of Philippine fishes are found in nearby Macabalan Bay which is contiguous with Camiguin channel and seas around Camiguin. Already, some local resort operators have started providing their pleasure boats with big game fishing gear.
Local diver Roel Uy, who runs a dive resort in Balingoan, Misamis Oriental (an hour and a half drive from Cagayan de Oro where you take the ferry to Camiguin) said the waters off Camiguin and Macajalar Bay abound with barracuda, jacks, wahoo, skipjack (bonito or tulingan)and tangigue.
He says the best time to go after these big fish is around November to April which is the schooling season for tamban, bolinao and malangsi although barracuda, jacks and tanguige are usually found in these waters all year round.
Big fish diving along the Camiguin channel and around Camiguin island could also give other more popular Philippine big fish diving destinations such as the Tubbataha Reefs in the Sulu Sea, Southwest Miniloc in El Nido, Lighthouse Point in Cabilao Island near Bohol and Yapak in Boracay Island a run for their money.
Mario Jugador, who heads the dive tours in Uy’s resort, recommends no less than 14 dive sites along the coast of Misamis Oriental and around Camiguin island which offer guaranteed sightings of true pelagics such as marlins, tunas, and manta rays as well as large reef and shoreline dwellers like barracuda, jacks, eagle rays, stingrays, surgeon fish, red snappers, groupers, turtles, sweetlips and the occasional reef shark.
But for those who pursue diving with big fish with a passion, nothing beats an encounter with a tawiki or whale shark. It's still up there at the top of the list of unforgettable underwater experiences.
I N D N J C ****
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