This historic town was thrown in virtual furor when one day last week a strange looking sea mammal was floating lifeless in the seas between the municipality and Pamilacan island. The source of the residents' excitement turned out to be a 10-meter sperm whale, weighing about 5,000 kilograms. Upon orders of Baclayon Mayor Alvin Uy, the lifeless sea creature was towed in shallow waters for curious residents to take a good look of the big whale. Believed to be struck by a propeller of a passing ferry vessel plying the seawaters off Baclayon, the whale was already in an advance state of decomposition that Mayor Uy lost no time in having the mammal buried immediately. Mayor Uy confirmed in a radio interview that he decided to have the dead whale buried after its decomposing body caused stench wafting around the area.

Told during the interview if plans are afoot to excavate the 5-ton whale by restoring it to its original form for purposes of having another tourist attraction in Baclayon, Mayor Uy said excavation and restoration are considered as an option. Jun Gultia of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources said the agency was no longer interested to conduct an autopsy because it was established that the whale died of accidental bumping into a ship's rudder, as evidenced by a long and deep wound on the animal's belly. Another source said a fisherman, identified as Alan Tapon, was the one who found the dead whale floating. BFAR said that, aside from sperm whale, among the commonly-sighted marine animals found between the seas off Pamilacan Island and mainland Bohol are bottlenose dolphin, Bryde's whale, Risso's dolphin, melon-headed whale, pygmy killer whale, short-finned pilot whale, spotted whale, Fraser's dolphin, and manta ray.

Baclayon is where the oldest stone church is located but destroyed by the Oct. 15 earthquake, hosts the whale-watching in industry tourism during this season and summer months off the island. Fishermen in Pamilacan Island used to catch whale shark using harpoon years back but they are now into whale watching since a ban on catching marine mammals took effect in the late 1990s. There had been 19 occurrences of stranding of whales, dolphins, whale sharks and sea turtles in recent months in Bohol, according to documented incidents. The last whale stranding occurred in 2012 in Garcia-Hernandez town. The stranded marine mammal was Beak whale about six meters long and was buried in said town. Of the 28 large marine mammal species in the country, 14 are present in Bohol waters, based on studies of Silliman University and Physalus, an international non-profit organization which has an office in Bohol.

“Their appearances in the different parts of the world and of the Philippines have contributed to various coastal livelihood and development and spurred research and education on their existence being a part of the natural system and fishery resources,” according to Executive Order renaming the Bohol Rescue Unit for Marine Mammals (BRUMM) of Bohol. Catching or taking, possessing, selling, buying, transporting and exporting dolphins, whales, sea cow or “dugongs” and other large marine vertebrates are prohibited under Fishery Administrative order No. 185, series of 1992 and the Bohol Environment Code. Bannering the theme: "Marine and Coastal Ecotourism: Oceans of Uncertainties and Waves of Opportunities," the recent World Ecotourism Conference held in Cebu City, whose participants toured Bohol last week, tackled challenges and impacts of eco-tourism that concerns about the sea that provides whale-watching opportunities. (RIC V. OBEDENCIO / MIKE ORTEGA LIGALIG)