14-foot whale shark found dead in Manila Bay, to be buried in Pangasinan

MANILA, Philippines - As people troop to cemeteries to honor their dead kin this weekend, officials of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) will visit a graveyard in Pangasinan to bury a two-year-old whale shark.  

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo yesterday said that the whale shark, locally called butanding, was found floating in Manila Bay by fishermen.

The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is believed to be only two years old. The average life span of whale sharks is between 10 to 20 years.

Fishermen Melchor Cariño, Benzar Jara and Sadat Jara were on board the M/B Romar when they spotted the creature some 50 miles off the Manila Yacht Club at around 4 a.m. yesterday. At first, they thought it was just a large log floating on the water. They pulled it to the breakwater and called the media and authorities when they found out that it was a butanding.

Tamayo dispatched a rubber boat to tow the 5.2-meter whale shark to their headquarters. “But the whale shark was too heavy for them that they had to call for a second boat for assistance,” he said.

Upon reaching the PCG’s wharf, Tamayo instructed 15 of their draftees to pull the animal to the wharf, but they were no match for the two-ton fish. The PCG tried utilizing the crane from their Marine Environment Protection Command truck, but since its maximum capacity is only one ton, they were apprehensive that the crane would break if they persisted on pulling in the giant fish.

Tamayo instructed the crew of the rubber boat to bring the whale shark to a vessel with a bigger crane docked nearby. Once lifted from the waters, the whale shark would be turned over to BFAR for examination and disposal.

Edwin Alesna, BFAR-Fisheries Quarantine Regulation and Wildlife chief, said they would conduct a necropsy on the whale shark to determine the cause of death.

“We need to examine its belly to know what it ate. The Manila Bay is a polluted area and the pollutant might be a contributing factor,” Alesna said.

Tamayo hinted at the possibility that climate change could have caused the giant fish’s death.

Alesna, however, said that they are still exploring the possibilities. A quick check showed that the whale shark did not bear any serious injury and had only bruises that might have been sustained while it was being dragged.

It was also possible that the whale shark was already feeling ill and decided to stay close to shore.

The Manila Bay area is also teeming with plankton, the whale shark’s food, and the creature may have only wanted to feed.

“They go where the food is,” Alesna said.

The butanding are tropical fishes that are considered endangered species and are often found in Donsol, Sorsogon and in Pamilacan, Bohol. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) information, education and communication officer Gregory Paul Yan said they have so far tracked 280 whale sharks in Donsol.

But there were signs that its migratory patterns are changing. The BFAR official said there were sightings in Atimonan in Quezon province and in Batangas.  

“These whale sharks come in groups called pods. So there is a possibility that there would be more sightings of whale sharks in Manila Bay,” he added.