Whale Sharks

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 31 2007 | By: admin

We are looking forward to first volunteer of the season Rachel who arrives tomorrow! She will be joined by another group towards the middle of November and there is plenty to keep us all busy as the whale shark season kicks off. I went diving today and although we were joined by a group of dolphins (always a bonus) - no whale sharks yet. Volunteers with our project live on our compound in a cottage called the Gatehouse. Their days are filled various jobs such as:

- carrying out whale shark surveys

- analysing sighting data

- making presentations in schools and hotels

- helping us in the fibre-glass turtle workshop

- making signboards and posters

- night watches for turtles and other marine life

- updating our website and blog

- helping with other awareness raising and fund raising initiatives

We depend a great deal on the good will of volunteers who kindly give us their time and experience. We live in a beautiful part of the world and can all but guarantee you an amazing time. The people are friendly, the weather is amazing and the beaches are breathtaking. Most of all though by volunteering you will be giving something back to the wonderful planet that we call home.

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 30 2007 | By: admin

Inter school Art Exhibition “SAVE THE WHALE SHARKS!” to be held at Leisure Lodge from 12 -16 November 2007 from 11am daily. Come and see what the children of Diani have done to save the gentle giants of the ocean! Everyone is welcome so tell all your friends.

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 26 2007 | By: admin

This beautiful whale shark bronze was done by an artist in Sweden. The attention to detail in the work is incredible. The artist would be happy to make more so please let me know if you are interested! Christmas is coming up!!

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 25 2007 | By: admin

Universeum is a non-profit public aquarium with 3 million litres of water, a Swedish landscape, a South American rainforest and a science centre. It is located in Gothenburg on the Swedish west coast. The establishment opened to the general public in June 2001 and has about half a million visitors yearly. Jan Westin, the creator of Universeum is one of our trustees.

The purpose of Universeum is to awaken the visitor’s environmental awareness and to get young people interested in natural sciences and technology. The whale shark project is a perfect means of achieving this goal. The study to reveal the mysteries of these gentle giants engages researchers from many different fields using high tech equipment and sophisticated analysing methods.

Universeum have dedicated an entire wall to the whale shark and collect funds from their many visitors. We visited Universeum in 2006 and Volker gave a series of talks about the project. We are really grateful for their kind and continued support.

Thank you Universeum!!

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 24 2007 | By: admin

Yesterday morning we got a call to a neighbour’s house. A large turtle had laid her eggs just in front of their house. I called Watamu Turtle Watch (who are the local experts) whilst Volker went over straight away. We were advised to make sure the nest was covered up properly and marked appropriately. In 50-60 days from now those little turtles will hopefully hatch and make their way down to the ocean. We have to make sure that any bright lights around the nest are switched off because this can cause the hatchlings to become disoriented. We will have some volunteers around that time so they will be fortunate enough to do nightly stake outs, watching for the hatchlings to appear.

Turtle hatchlings have a few days of energy from their yolk sac after they hatch. This small store of energy has to help them dig their way out of the nest, make their way to the ocean and swim out to sea to their feeding grounds. Often people are tempted to help the baby turtles on their journey from the nest. This doesn’t help the turtles at all and is in fact counter-destructive. They need to find their own way to the ocean to prepare them by getting their circulation going and muscles working. Turtles respond to the earth’s magnetic forces and this helps them navigate the seas. To interrupt this journey may interfere with this important ability, which means that the turtle might get lost in the ocean. Female turtles return to the beach they were born to lay their own eggs some 20-30 years later.

From egg to adult only one in a thousand turtles will survive to return to their nesting beach.

You really can help make a difference. Donate to us or go to www.watamuturtles.com and dig deep to save our turtles!

This is the nest and you can see the laboured tracks made by the mother turtle as she slogged up the beach to lay her eggs.

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 23 2007 | By: admin

This is a picture of all the delegates from the International Whale Shark Conference held in Perth, Australia 2005. Volker is 3rd in on the 4th row on the left in a checked shirt and I am in the front row 3rd in from the left with a kikoy round my neck.

Attending the conference gave the project a real boost and we made some excellent contacts. It was thanks to that networking that we were able to start our tagging programme in conjunction with Hubbs Seaworld Research Institute in San Diego. It was very interesting to hear all the presentations about whale sharks all over the world and how different countries are trying to protect them. There were 87 delegates reporting on whale sharks in 23 different countries.

The 2nd International Whale Shark Conference was due to be held on Holbox Island, Mexico this August but it was unfortunately cancelled because of Hurricane Dean. It will be rescheduled for sometime next year.

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 22 2007 | By: admin

Yesterday the EAWST was represented in style at the famous Diani Goat Derby - goat races for charity organised by the East African Women’s League. (The goats are very well cared for and the races are held in humane conditions.) We were invited to have a tent and got to use our smart new banner for the first time. We displayed our wares including our new key-rings and thanks to super volunteers Simon and Peninnah we made just over USD100 from merchandise sales! It was a really fun day for a good cause and the whale sharks in Diani got some publicity as well.

And whale shark enthusiast and manager of Diving The Crab Diani Digo Danny shows off his whale shark tattoo!! He was awarded the prize for “Best Whale Shark Supporter”. Well done Danny!!

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 16 2007 | By: admin

Yesterday Volker and I had a super meeting with Nassir, the senior research scientist at the Kenya Wildlife Service offices in Mombasa. The KWS has been very supportive of our work and we are keen to work together to ensure that whale sharks are safe in Kenyan waters. Our aim is to illegalise the whale shark trade completely and implement a code of conduct for any human interaction. We will use the various models in place, drawing particularly from the code of conduct used in Ningaloo, Western Australia. We planned a series of meetings with senior KWS administration to see this through and we are really optimistic about the implementation. We figure that if they can successfully illegalise the whale shark trade in Taiwan where there is arguably the highest demand for whale shark meat/liver in the world, then we can do it here in Kenya!

Our friend Bea Larco took these pictures of a dead whale shark we found in 2005.

Did you know that the whale shark has the thickest skin in the animal world? It is 9 inches thick in places. That is about as long as an average head or foot. Isn’t that amazing? And doesn’t it deserve the ultimate protection? You can help us save the whale shark. Just do it!

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 13 2007 | By: admin

In April 2006 we had a grand dinner on MV Nyayo, one of the ferries that operates from Mombasa island to the mainland. Nyayo means ” footsteps ” and the ferry was decked out in blue and silver balloons and garlands. We were welcomed on board by traditional dancers and cocktails. There was live entertainment, a fashion show by disabled children from Bombolulu, a yummy buffet and a wonderful atmosphere. It was the EAWST’s official launch and the event was well-covered by the media. Everyone had a great evening and as well raising money perhaps more importantly we raised a huge amount of awareness and local support. The best part for me was that thanks to our sponsors we were able to invite a table of local fishermen, divers and boat captains to join us for the evening. It was wonderful to see them enjoying themselves for such a good cause.

These pictures show the beautiful sunset we enjoyed,Volker’s speech and the merry crowd. This is part of what Volker said on that memorable night:

“Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen thank you so much for coming here tonight. Seeing you all sitting here on the ferry is the realization of the start of a great vision for this country.

Kenya

is one of the few places in the world where whale sharks can be found in great numbers. Several years ago I and several others who live along our coast noticed a significant increase in the numbers of whale sharks. We began to notice a pattern, when they came, when they left, where their favourite locations were. The launch tonight of the East African Whale Shark Trust marks the start of a unique conservation venture. We want to educate all Kenyans as to the value of the biggest fish in the ocean. We want to raise awareness and give this gentle giant the respect and protection it deserves. We want to save the whale shark for future generations.

“Whale sharks grow incredibly slowly, only about 5cm per year. They mature at 30 years old. Many of the sharks we see here are not mature, meaning that they will possibly become extinct if current trends are allowed to continue. They are also slow movers, moving at around 5kph making them an easy target to hunt. As other parts of the world such as

India

successfully illegalize whale shark hunting, it is important that countries like ours put a stop to any potential of whale shark hunting gathering momentum here. By raising awareness and working together with the institutions and organisations already in place we hope to stop any whale shark trade or by-catch trade going on in our waters.

“We invited representatives from the local fishing community here tonight as a sign of recognition of their insight into this fish. Having lived alongside it for many years their specialized knowledge is invaluable. We are very lucky here in

Kenya

to have fishermen who are keen to work with us and help us save the whale shark. We already have systems in place that should a whale shark get caught in a net for example, we are able work together to set it free. Workshops are underway to stop the use of these nets altogether, replacing them with environmentally friendly fishing methods which will save both whale sharks and turtles as well as other marine life.

“In Exmouth, which is a little town in

North Western Australia
, the community depends on the whale shark. The whale shark industry makes over $20 million during the 4 month season. People travel all over the world and pay a great deal of money to swim with the whale shark. 60% of these visitors come from Europe. Exmouth cannot offer half of what we can offer here. It is also far more remote than

Kenya

.

“A healthy marine ecosystem is the sign of a healthy environment. It will not be long before

Kenya

is renowned for being a whale shark haven. We have some of the most beautiful beaches and stunning dive sites in the world. The potential for eco-tourism is huge. Our project is only the beginning of something great for this country. We are so happy that you are here to celebrate this beginning with us. Thank you and I hope you have a wonderful evening.”

The word “nyayo” is symbolic here because it was coined by Kenya’s first president Jomo Kenyatta and often used by former President Moi when he followed in Kenyatta’s footsteps. I like to think of all the conservation projects all over the world, big and small, known and not known, making their own footsteps as we all try to play our part in conserving our planet.

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 11 2007 | By: admin

The future of whale sharks and whale shark conservation is in the hands of our children. We often give presentations in local schools and in these pictures you can see Volker our founder giving a talk to the children of Seacrest School in Diani. They were a super little audience and asked various interesting questions! You can see them holding up our stickers which we handed out for “keen bean participation”! We desperately need a small generator, TV/DVD player and projector so that we can give these presentations in more remote schools where there is no electricity. Our goal is to visit each and every school in our community to raise awareness and interest. You can help by contributing, however small, we are always grateful. Thank you and remember “hope floats”!

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