The strict implementation and campaign against illegal fishing proved too be reaping the benefits when a group of local fishermen reported a whale shark (butanding) sighting off the sea coasts of Barangays Lingsat and Carlatan.
According to Dolores Gurtiza of the City Agriculture Office, said that the particular “butanding” was being sighted in the sea waters of Agoo and Aringay, La Union and at Barangay San Agustin, during the rainy months of June and was reported to have been returning to the San Fernando Bay from time to time but it was the first time that it lingered longer off the local sea waters. “Butanding,” with its scientific name, Rhincodon typus, is known to be migratory in nature and 40 of them is known to have a sanctuary in Donsol, Sorsogon Province.
Gurtiza added that it was again sighted by a Philippine National Police official based in Camp Diego Silang in Carlatan on June 6 and it was reported to her only on June 7. On June 15, it was found to be still swimming in the vicinity.
The fishermen who went with Gurtiza reportedly spent some of their fishing time that day, playing with the whale shark while riding in motorized boats. She averred that it was the same specie which visits the local coasts from time to time.
“It played with the fishermen, one of them tried to ride but it dived at the bottom of the sea,” Gurtiza added that the whale sharks are usually harmless to humans rather, they are playful.
Mayor Pablo C. Ortega, who immediately rushed to the site, attributed this to the abundance of planktons and rich marine vegetation in the area, including the intact coral reefs in the area in line with the local government’s drive for environmental concerns.
The fish is said to be about 18 feet long, according to William Castañeda, a resident of Lingsat and the fisherman who first reported the sighting to Gurtiza.
“Butandings do not like dynamited waters, that’s why it is here,” Gurtiza said and expected that the said fish will return. |
