Whale Shark in Tibiao, Antique

We were out there enjoying lambaklad fishing in Tibiao when one of the fishermen exclaimed 'balyeran'! And it seemed everyone got excited. I didn't get it first because I never thought whale sharks also existed in Antique but there it was! A 6 meter long giant of a fish swimming near our balsa! Of course, I was really amazed and felt so blessed to have seen that rare sea creature and of all places, in Antique. At last I didn't have to travel far just to enjoy the full magnificence of the 'balyeran'.

Lambaklad is a kind of fishing process that combines two fish gathering techniques--lambat ( fishnet ) and baklad ( fish fence ). It is one eco-tourism activity offered by Katahum Tours encouraging tourists to join local fisherfolks in their fishing activity. We joined the same expecting some interesting big catch like tuna but we never expected to meet this awesome fish locally known as 'balyeran' or 'butanding' in Tagalog.

The whale shark was released as soon as the fisherfolks managed to get it off their net. While freeing the fish, the equally eager locals whispered, 'please bring us more fish' in their local language, believing that the whale shark is a bringer of good luck.

The fisherfolks said, the whale shark has already been spotted in their place several times this year.

For more info about the tour packages of Katahum Tours in the province of Antique,click here.