The Philippines’ underwater world

[joebloggs]

http://www.euronews.com/2013/06/04/t...erwater-world/

[Doc Alan]

Thanks for this link, Joebloggs !

" The same weight as three elephants, and the same size as a city-bus, the whale shark is the largest fish in the world. In the third part of our ‘Philippine Life’ series we headed to Donsol, in the south of Luzon Island, in search of these gentle giants.


Why is Donsol Bay such a hot-spot for whale sharks?


The answer is Mount Mayon, one of the Philippines’ many active volcanoes. Come monsoon season, rich minerals flow down the volcano via the Donsol river, into the ocean. They feed the mangroves, which feed the plankton, which leads to an ‘All-you-can-eat’ buffet for sea creatures, who flock to the surrounding area.

The discovery of whale sharks here has drastically altered life for locals in the region. A decade ago, the WWF and local authorities implemented a policy of community-based eco-friendly tourism. For butanding spotter, Joey Aquino, the change has been a welcome one: The whale sharks changed Donsol in a way that they provided a livelihood to unemployed people, especially those fishermen who had previously only relied on fishing . "


I enjoyed reading more and watching the video in the link .

[joebloggs]

for the rep doc Alan,
whale sharks are amazing

[Ako Si Jamie]

They're found in Oslob too on the SE coast of Cebu Island.