More than once, I asked myself this question as I swiveled and turned, holding on to anything stable, and tried to keep within my videocamera viewfinder my playful, grinning subjects.

I was on a pump boat, on a dolphin watching tour off Pamilacan Island in Bohol. But it seemed to me that it was the dolphins who enjoyed watching me go crazy trying to get footage of them.

It did not help that winds the night before had built up sea swells, which rocked the boat and made recording next to impossible. I wanted to get images to share with employees of Smart Communications Inc. (SMART) who, like me, are involved in the company’s program to promote ecotourism and responsible travel.

We were cruising the waters of the Bohol Marine Triangle, covering the islands of Panglao, Balicasag, and Pamilacan. The area, considered globally significant for its rich biodiversity, provides a migratory route for whales and dolphins. Its deep-sea environment also provides habitat for a variety of marine life including rare or endangered species like whale sharks, devil manta and stingrays. The Bohol Marine Triangle is one of the natural attractions that make Bohol the country’s No. 1 tourist destination.

We were waiting for our spotter to signal to the navigator that he had sighted dolphins or whales.

Our boat would then go in that direction. We had not seen any whales, but we’d already come across what the boatman identified as a Risso’s dolphin and a bottlenose dolphin.

Whale and dolphin-watching is a community-based ecotourism activity of Pamilacan folk. It is conducted, not by outside tour operators for profit, but by the residents themselves for their own benefit. The spotters, boatmen, guides, attendants, and food servers during the tour are all from Pamilacan.

This was not the case years back when the community itself had endangered the creatures that now bring tourists to the island.

Leo Sumalpong, president of the Pamilacan Island Dolphin and Whale Watching Organization, said he used to hunt manta rays, whales and dolphins before the government imposed a ban in 1998. Then Agriculture Secretary Salvador Escudero III issued an administrative order declaring whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) and manta rays (Manta birostris) protected species. Fisheries Administrative Order 193 also made it unlawful to catch, sell, purchase, possess, transport and export them.

Their livelihood lost, Sumalpong and other hunters looked for alternatives. A year earlier, the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) – Philippines had launched the Pamilacan Island Dolphin and Whale Watching Village Integrated Development Program. The WWF’s education and awareness program made the hunters realize the importance of the rich underwater life in the area and the economic benefits they could get from protecting these resources, he said.

Sumalpong and other hunters thus became the pioneers of the Pamilacan Island Dolphin and Whale Watching Organization (PIDWWO) and staunch advocates of whale and dolphin preservation.

Before, one dolphin would fetch R500 to R700 at the market,” Sumalpong said in Tagalog.

“Now, just the sight of one dolphin can generate at least R3,000 for boat rental alone. Business will be good as long as people will keep coming. And they will come as long as there are dolphins and whales,” he added.

Those most commonly found around Pamilacan are the Risso’s dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, pantropical spotted dolphin, long-snouted spinner dolphin, Fraser’s dolphin, melon-headed whale, shortfinned pilot whale, sperm whale, and the Bryde’s whale. Less frequently seen are the pygmy sperm whale and Blainville’s beaked whale. Other non-marine mammal species encountered in the area are manta rays and whale sharks.

There are times, though, when a run out to sea turns up nothing but water and sky. “When there are no whales, some just settle for ‘wave-watching’, Sumalpong said with a laugh.

When the winds pick up and whip up big waves, he immediately advises those who have booked tours. He does not take tourists out to sea if there’s the slightest chance of danger. It only takes one unfortunate incident to drive tourists away.

But even during the rare times that no dolphin responds to the sound of the motors and comes out to play, he makes the outing worth the tourists’ while. The dolphin-watching tour includes a stop on the island, where tourists are treated to a good lunch – with ambience. Food is certainly more appetizing when you’re relaxing under the coconut trees near the old Spanish fort, with a cool breeze sweeping in from the sea.

The Spanish fort itself is interesting. Built some 200 years ago, it is a relic from the time when the island served as a watch station for pirates and enemies of the Spanish colony. There are plans to convert the fort into a ceteceans museum, which will house the artifacts from the fishing community’s whaling tradition.

Swimming and snorkeling are also popular activities, the clear blue waters teem with colorful marine life. Residents are vigilant about maintaining the fish sanctuary nearby and preventing fishing in its environs.

Bohol is an hour away from Manila by plane and from Cebu by ferry. To go to Pamilacan, take a boat at the Baclayon Pier, 15 minutes from the provincial capital, Tagbilaran City. Boats also pick up tourists from Panglao Island.

Tours may be arranged with Chito Vano of the Bohol Tourism Office at (038) 4413666 or (038) 5019186 or 09202714859 or at boholtourism@yahoo.com. More information is available at www.bohol.gov.ph.

The Pamilacan Marine Life Tour shows how, with proper education, a community can draw more lasting benefits from the environment. The islanders no longer hunt whales and dolphins. They build fish sanctuaries to protect the marine mammals, they watch over them, patrolling the seas for intruders.

They also bring over tourists who watch the sea mammals flip, spin, dive, frolic and applauded every move. I’ve seen the dolphins’ show and I can tell you, it’s worth the water acrobatics I’ve had to do to get that precious video footage. Maybe that’s why dolphins grin.

(Aimee L. Abaricia is an employee of Smart Communications, Inc. who went to Pamilacan Island as part of the company’s efforts to promote ecotourism among its employees.)