Donsol also a breeding ground for Whale Shark-DOT

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines (PNA) -- Not only is Donsol town in Sorsogon is called whale shark ("Butanding") capital of the country but it will now also be considered as a breeding ground after authorities discovered recently a 15-inch long baby whale shark in the town's coastal waters, the Department of Tourism (DOT) in Bicol said.

Maria “Nene” Ravanilla, DOT regional director, said the nature conservation group World Wide Fund-Philippines is conducting the study after the recent discovery of the baby whale shark accidentally caught in the area off the coast of Donsol.

According to Ravanilla, the smallest ever butanding was said to be a day-old whale shark hence it was born in the area.

Butanding are also thriving in this once sleepy town because of the abundance of krill and other planktons usually in the diet of the gentle giants of the seas.

Ravanilla said that the whale shark interaction in Donsol, one of the most visited tourist spots in Bicol or perhaps in the whole country, continues to draw tourist to Sorsogon last year which reached 101,799 or 21 percent higher than in 2009 with only 84,354.

She said that out of the total tourist arrivals last year, 73,925 were local tourists while 27,874 were foreigners or a ratio of one foreign tourist per three locals.

She said Donsol is now vying to be a first class municipality after its gross receipts from tourism reached more than P66 million.

Butanding, or whale shark (Rhincodon typus), is a slow-moving filter-feeding animal that is considered as the largest fish in the sea, measuring 40 feet or more.

This distinctively yellow-marked shark is the only member of its genus Rhincodon and its family, Rhincodontidae, which is grouped into the subclass Elasmobranchii in the class Chondrichthyes.

source: mb.com.ph