Volunteer to research whale sharks in Donsol, Philippines.

Donsol Whale Shark Project

Who: The Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE)

Where: Donsol Bay, Sorsogon Province, Philippines

Focus: Monitoring and photo ID-ing whale sharks onboard tourist boats.

When: January to June

Duration: Min. 3 month stay

Suitability: Over 18s. Volunteers should be confident swimmers and able to freedive to 7 metres. Scholarships available for Filipino nationals.

Cost: 1 month from USD 450.

As a volunteer, you will:

• Support whale shark research and help increase knowledge of their activity around Donsol Bay to support long-term scientific goals and policy making.
• Learn about whale shark biology, ecology and research techniques.
• Join tourist boats to search for and photograph whale sharks.
• Deploy GPS trackers on all the tourist vessels to see where the encounters are occurring across the season.
• Use photographic identification techniques to identify individuals in the population.
• Enter collected data into the database.
• Help to gain understanding of whale shark movement patterns in the Philippines and beyond.

The Base

Accommodation: Live in a shared home in a remote setting with extremely basic amenities.

Food: Three meals a day.

Working week: 1 day off a week.

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The next step: Visit LAMAVE for more information and to book.
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