Pamilacan Paradise

I am smitten. Oh Pamilacan, how lovely you are.  Wednesday morning we headed out to spend a few days surveying the waters surrounding this former whaling community.  Up until the mid-1990s the people of Pamilacan were whalers- exploiting the rich diversity of cetaceans that used the area. In fact, a pamilak was the hook-like implement used by the whalers. Sadly, as with many hunts, the whaling wasn't sustainable and the catch declined. Eventually, in approx 1994, whaling was made illegal. Luckily, the cetaceans are starting to return.

Even without the returning whales and dolphins, Pamilacan would still be a paradise.  The waters alternate between varying shades of gemstone: stunning turquoise, jade green and emerald blue.  The sand is white, with thatched huts and homes set back amongst grass that looks as uniform as astroturf thanks to local goats that graze freely.  Plumeria (fragipani) trees are scattered about, dropping down their lovely scented flowers.  Dinner is served al fresco and consists of fresh caught fish, the mandatory rice, and tasty veggie dishes.  There is a fabulous dog named Bogart that greets you enthusiastically with a bow-wow and a rapidly wagging trail. Electricity is only available from 6-11pm.  Windows always stay open and shoes are abandoned as soon as you set foot on the island.  At night, lightening flickers in the muggy skies.  I love lightening.

 

Ten steps from our door and my toes were in the water.  A few fin kicks later, and I was snorkeling amongst some of the most beautiful coral I've ever seen.  I floated over top of huge pieces of soft and hard corals- mesmerized by these impressive colonies of tiny creatures that form such intricate structures.  Amongst the corals was a myriad of reef fish.  I know a few names, but mostly just enjoyed the underwater sights instead of identifying them all.  Some of my faves: a regal angelfish, a chocolate chip sea star, knifefish, pipefish and too many types of anemonefish to count.  While I haven't yet had the opportunity to dive here, snorkeling through the reef made me remember how much I love being underwater.  The only shock was my first view of a kraite- a sea snake!  Eek ( actually shrieked into my snorkel at one point when it was close)!  But also super cool.  It undulated through the coral, coming to the surface for a quick breath, it's black and white stripes contrasting against the blue water.  (underwater pics from my co-worker).

Of course, we were there to work.  Our trip was sponsored by a Filipino nature and travel television show.  They were there to tape an episode about cetaceans and asked our Principal Investigator to be the expert on board.  The whole thingwas a bit goofy, but probably stories better told in person than on the internet.

Despite the silly made-for-tv moments, we had a productive few days.  The seas were flat calm- great sighting conditions.  We spotted spinner dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, melon-headed whales, Fraser's dolphins (another new species for me), and most excitingly, a Bryde's whale.  Bryde's whales are large rorquals, in the same family as fin whales and minkes, though mostly found in the tropics.  They were targeted by the whaling activity in the area, with the last one landed in the mid-1990s.  After exploitation, sightings had been virtually non-existant until the past few years.    Our sighting (same animal on two days) lends hope that they may be making a comeback- reminisant to the humpback comeback we've witnessed in Johnstone Strait over the past decade.  As Bryde's are still a very under-studied species, we stuck with it for a few hours taking it's inter-breath and dive intervals as it meandered in circles in the same spot.  It's amazing how consistent the animal was, 12 breaths about 30 seconds apart and then a 5 minute dive.  With the engine off, we could hear the huge whoosh of breath, but unlike the chilly conditions of home where blows hang in the air, the blow dissipated quickly in the humidity.  Upon closer inspection for photo-ID, we could also detect huge numbers of cookie cutter shark scars- perfectly oval bites dotted the flanks of the animal, which appeared bronze in colour (diatoms?). 

On top of the cetaceans, we were also there to look for whale sharks.  We are collaborating with several groups to better understand whale shark distribution and abundance in the Philippines.  In Pamilacan, they are known to arrive just outside the Marine Protected Area at dusk.  The first night we stopped by the area and there were two sharks!  Unfortunately, we were a bit late, and it was already quite dark (the sun goes down very fast here).  Two of our team hopped in anyway, and our PI lucked out and was able to get a biopsy sample (to be added to a global genetics study out of the University of Chicago) when a shark passed by closely.  Those of us on the boat could just make out the tips of the dorsal fin and tail cutting through the water as the shark fed on zooplankton near the surface.   The next evening we headed back to the area a bit earlier, but the sharks were lower in the water column and we weren't able to have an encounter. Bizarrely, at one point on our second day of surveying, in the middle of the day, while sitting in a wide open area with our engine off observing the Bryde's at a distance on our port side, we were surprised by a huge splash on our starboard side.  A whale shark had just run into our boat.  WTF!?  It disappeared before we could react (they often dive deeply), but considering we were sitting still, in a big area, it was a bit of a freak encounter.

Sadly, we had to leave on Friday afternoon.  Zipping back along the clear water in a little white bangka, flying fish darting around us, I was feeling so lucky to be here.