Panaon Island Is Now Protected: What It Means for Whale Sharks

Imagine a quiet bay in Southern Leyte, a small boat, a spotter standing at the bow and looking for a shadow under the water. Since August 2025, that bay sits inside a protected area. Panaon Island's waters were declared the Panaon Island Protected Seascape under Philippine Republic Act No. 12238. It includes the municipalities of Liloan, Pintuyan, San Francisco and San Ricardo.

For whale sharks, this is more than a new name on a map. LAMAVE says its researchers and local partners have identified over 350 individual whale sharks in Panaon waters. The law recognises a place where years of community work and marine life meet.

So what does the new status really change? Let us look at what the law does, and what it leaves open.

What exactly is protected in the Panaon Island Protected Seascape?

The law created the seascape under the Expanded National Integrated Protected Area System. It covers the waters around Panaon Island and the four municipalities.

It is a formal national step. It does not mean every threat has disappeared, and it does not mean every activity is now automatically banned.

The details of how the area is managed matter. Rules can change, so check the current local rules and guidance. The word "protected" alone does not tell you where you can swim, anchor or dive.

The whale shark story is local, and connected

LAMAVE has worked in the area for more than ten years. Its team describes Panaon as one of its longest-running whale shark research and conservation projects.

Photo-identification connected a whale shark called Pasipiko, recorded in Panaon, with an earlier record in Taiwan, more than 1,600 kilometres away.

That is one documented connection. But it carries a big idea. Local waters can matter to animals whose lives cross borders. A bay in Southern Leyte can be one stop in a much longer life, and a protected area is one piece of a much bigger conservation puzzle.

Protection works through people, too

LAMAVE credits local communities and tourism partners as leaders in protecting biodiversity and in making marine tourism more sustainable. In Pintuyan, the provincial tourism page says a local people's organisation runs the whale shark interaction program. Its members work as guides and spotters.

Visitors still carry their own part. Follow the local briefing and give the animal its space. Never touch, chase, block or bait a whale shark. The shark should always be free to leave.

Wildlife encounters are unpredictable. Swimming with whale sharks should always follow local regulations and experienced professional guidance.

Panaon is also home to coral reefs, fish, invertebrates, dolphins and turtles. The whale sharks share their bay with a lot of other life. Our Philippines ocean guide has more wildlife and destination context.

A line on a map is a beginning. The real life of a protected seascape is made in the daily choices of the people who live, work and visit there.

Questions people ask

Wildlife encounters are never guaranteed and never forced. Ocean Calling works only with vetted, ethical local operators, and every animal is free to approach, or not, entirely on its own terms.