Whale Sharks

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 10 2007 | By: admin

Taiwan bans whale shark consumption, trade by 2008
By CRAIG SIMONS, MARK DAVIS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/21/07

Taipei, Taiwan - Taiwan will ban the harvest and sale of whale sharks
beginning in 2008, a decision that could have repercussions at the
Georgia Aquarium and other facilities where the world’s largest fish are
displayed.

“From the beginning of next year there will be a total ban on catching
and selling whale sharks and whale shark meat,” Lan Wei-tern, a
spokesman for

’s Fisheries Agency, said Monday.

The ban strikes whale shark from Taiwanese grocery shelves and menus,
and at other Asian markets where whale shark meat from
is consumed.

The ban also would halt
’s export of whale sharks to aquariums.
The Georgia Aquarium, the world’s largest aquarium, has three whale
sharks from
, a major supplier of whale sharks. It is negotiating
to get two more this summer from the Taiwanese government, before the
ban takes effect.

The aquarium had four whale sharks until January, when a male, Ralph,
died. A necropsy showed the fish died of peritonitis, an inflammation of
the abdomen. He also had stomach perforations, possibly caused by
force-feeding through a PVC pipe.

Taiwanese officials say they want to know more about Ralph’s death
before approving the export of two more.

Jeff Swanagan, president and executive director of the Georgia Aquarium,
said
made the right decision to stop whale shark trade.

“Georgia Aquarium applauds
for its leadership in conservation in
the region, moving from a fishing-based economy around whale sharks to
an eco-tourism-based economy around whale sharks,” Swanagan said in a
statement.

An aquarium spokesman declined comment on how the ban would impact any
future plans to acquire whale sharks.

According to Taiwanese fisheries oficials, the aquarium is planning to
export next month two male whale sharks already in captivity in an
offshore pen.

The ban recognizes “world opinion” as well as domestic concerns about
the world’s largest fish, said

Chu

Yung-cheng, another fisheries
department spokesman.

“Many Taiwanese have developed a sense of environmental protection,”

Chu

said.

The species needs protecting, said Brad Norman, director of Ecocean, an
Australian nonprofit group working worldwide to protect whale sharks. He
called the ban “absolutely fantastic.”

“The number of whale sharks has dropped dramatically over the past few
years and the ban sends a message both to Taiwan and the rest of the
world that officials there recognize how imperiled this animal is,”
Norman said.

Rhincodon typus, the whale shark, is a mysterious animal -no one knows
how far whale sharks migrate, their life expectancy, or how many exist
in the wild.

Numbers from the fisheries agency indicate that the species is under
pressure in Taiwanese waters.

In 1995, according to records,
caught 270 whale sharks. In 2001,
the catch dwindled to “about 100,” said Zhuang Shouzheng, an associate
professor at

National
Taiwan
Ocean
University

.

The next year, 2002,
set an 80-fish quota of whale sharks. Also
that year, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
of Wild Fauna and Flora classified whale sharks as “vulnerable to
extinction.”

’s quota in 2006 was 60 whale sharks; this year, the government
cut it to 30. Taiwanese fishermen so far this year have caught 39.
They’ve freed nine to comply with the 30-shark limit, according to the
fisheries agency.

Numbers indicate that whale sharks aren’t thriving.

Shark-watchers at the
Ningaloo
Reef
Marine
Park
in
, for
example, said they’ve seen “one of two” whale sharks daily this year; in
previous years, they cataloged six or seven every day, said

Norman

.

“It’s a really, really critical time right now,”

Norman

said. “Their
current number is such that we really can’t sit on our hands.”

The big fish are “iconic species,” said Jason Holmberg, an
Oregon

researcher who has studied whale sharks in
and the
.
“They are gentle giants, the ’safe’ shark,” said Holmberg, who cheered
’s decision.

They’re also pretty tasty.

Monday night, at the Really Good Seafood restaurant in downtown

Taipei

,
a plate of whale shark stir-fried with garlic shoots sold for about $12.
Restaurant manager Kuo Yaoming said the meal- also called “tofu shark”
for its soft, white flesh - is not as popular as it once was.

“Now, more Taiwanese want to protect the environment,” he said.

Other nations feel similarly protective. The
, where locals used
oil from whale sharks’ livers to treat boat hulls, forbade whale shark
fishing in 1995. In 1998, the
put an end to the practice.
followed in 2001.

Yet the ban is not worldwide; whale sharks can still be taken for food
or display from some nations’ waters, said Holmberg. The

government for example, might agree to export a whale shark, he said.

But the ban still helps, Holmber said. “A lot of conservationists,” he
said, “feel that now is the time for whale sharks.”

Craig Simons reported from

Taipei

. Mark Davis from

Atlanta

.

We at the EAWST continue to strive toward achieving the same result for Kenya.

3 responses so far

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 08 2007 | By: admin

Sorry for the few days silence everyone! 12 puppies have kept me away from my computer, running a maternity/neo-natal kennel! We are busy in a whale shark workshop making whale shark carvings from sustainable wood. There is a huge industry along the coast and indeed all over Kenya in wood carvings. We insist on using only sustainable wood and encourage tradesmen to carry on this trend for all carvings that they do. We are still experimenting with different sizes and shapes and at the moment are using a local project for the disabled to come up with some sample whale shark carvings.

3 responses so far

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 05 2007 | By: admin

We have written a collection of short stories for children about a whale shark called Shuari. “Shuari” is the word used by the local people to describe the sea when it is calm and flat. We are hoping to get it published soon. In the meantime I may put some excerpts on this blog! Today however we are completely dedicated to the original Shuari (a rottweiler not a whale shark and incidentally the inspiration behind the title of the book) because she had 12 beautiful puppies last night! We also received our new Tshirts, pictured below next to our tyre covers - please feel welcome to order them either by contacting me on this blog or through our website www.giantsharks.org The sale of our mrechandise goes straight back into the running of the project.

Thank you!

One response so far

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 04 2007 | By: admin

Smiling in the sunshine Steve (Watamu Turtle Watch), Volker (EAWST), Simon and Stu (both from Camps International/Camp Kenya) hold up a turtle made from recycled flip flops and plastic bags. Here’s to collaboration!

Today was mostly spent planning the art exhibition with our volunteer Simon. Our new Tshirts arrived as well - pics to follow!

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 03 2007 | By: admin

This little turtle is estimated to be about a year old and is being cared for by the Watamu Turtle Watch team. Steve had to hold open its wee beak with a stick so that Mary could insert the tube down its throat full of medicine. It was all done very gently and with real expertise.

This is the Rescue Centre and you can see the little turtle being cared for above in the pool behind Volker.

One response so far

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 03 2007 | By: admin

We have had the most exciting day with the Watamu Turtle Watch team. We drove along Kenya’s best for 3 hours and were rewarded with a tour around a really impressive, heart-warming project. The Watamu Turtle Watch www.watamuturtles.com protect Kenya’s beaches and sea turtles. The project includes a Net Release Programme, Nest Protection, The Sea Turtle Rescue Centre, Education and Sand Art. We were shown round their turtle rehabilitation centre and watched one sick turtle being tube fed by loving hands. The rehab centre is an array of kidney bean shaped pools where turtles are cared for until hopefully they can be released. Sick and damaged turtles are often brought into the centre by fishermen. We enjoyed their various poster and sign board display as well as their community shop in Watamu village (where I bought a beaded kikapu).

Did you know that turtles are not just a pretty face and clever navigators? They are also amazing divers (something in common with their pals the whale sharks). Leatherback turtles dive down to 990m/3248ft. Olive Ridley turtles manage 287m/940ft and Green turtles go to 110m/360ft. They can hold their breath for about 45 mins underwater and for hours if they are at rest. Under stress turtles can drown in 15 mins.

On the long, dusty and bUmPYYy drive home we talked about the good work Steve Trott and his team in Watamu are doing. Together with Camp Kenya www.campkenya.com we plan to work with Watamu Turtle Watch as we introduce similar turtle initiatives in Diani because sadly turtles get caught in traditionally used nets so often. Please visit their site www.watamuturtles.com and support them. Hopefully they too will have a blog up soon!

One response so far

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 02 2007 | By: admin

Everybody remembers the first time they dived with a whale shark as it is unforgettable. To get close to such a large and beautiful creature is an awesome, immensely humbling experience. There is something magical about watching them move, the curve of their tail, the glint of their spots and the tiny yellow and blue fish that collect in the jet stream in front of their mouths. With a graceful sweep of their bodies they can disappear into the deep, taking with them their secrets.

We are trying to solve the mystery of where the whale sharks go when they seemingly disappear. Recent research shows us that they dive to depths of over 1000 metres where can be less than 8.5 degrees C! It was always thought they spent most of their time at the surface but the same research shows that they spend a considerable amount of time at great depths as well. We hope to start an acoustic tagging programme early next year where we will place receiver beacons at regular intervals along 12km of whale shark hotspots. Every time the whale sharks pass within a certain radius of the receivers their movement will be tracked so eventually we will have a much clearer picture of how faithful they are to the Diani beach area.

We welcome you to get involved and if you would like to know more about this programme please get in touch with us. Doesn’t this close up picture above of a whale shark’s mouth just make you want to know more about the biggest fish in the ocean??!

2 responses so far

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 01 2007 | By: admin

This picture shows a whale shark caught in a net. We don’t know what happened to this particular shark and can only hope that it somehow managed to survive.

2 responses so far

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 01 2007 | By: admin

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 01 2007 | By: admin

The biggest threat facing whale sharks (and turtles) in Kenyan waters is being caught in the large mesh nylon drift nets used by local fishermen. Sadly it is a very common sight to see dead turtles either floating out at sea or washed up on the beach. From time to time whale sharks too get caught in these nets, and what often happens is that the fisherman will cut off whatever part of the whale shark is entangled in his net. We once came across a whale shark whose caudal fin (the forked one right at the end) was hacked off. It was slowly bleeding to death just on the inside of our reef. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see this beautiful creature, floating upside down, blood literally spurting out of it. It was the first time that I had actually touched a whale shark and I remember thinking how leathery its skin felt. We knew we couldn’t save it, obviously so we filmed as much as we could and have put a short video on our website www.giantsharks.org It is depressing and sad to watch but it does help raise awareness.

Our response to this problem is the newly launched turtle workshop. It is well-known that countless turtles (as well as whale sharks) get caught in fishermen’s large mesh nylon drift nets and meet their death by drowning. As well as turtles, a host of other smaller marine creatures meet a similar fate. These nets can be several hundreds of metres long and can cause decades of severe damage to the aquatic ecosystem.

It is important to note at outset that these nets have been used for years by fishermen along the Kenya coast. One net costs at least Ksh 50,000 (about USD700). The disadvantage of using these nets is that the fishermen can only use them at night and moreover when there is no moon. In practice that limits them to 2 weeks per month. Furthermore, because they will set the nets in the evening and collect them in the early morning, any fish caught in the early evening will not be fresh by the time it gets to the end-buyer. Many hotels reject the fish resulting in a loss of income to the fishermen who end up drying the fish and eating it themselves. In turn this causes the fishermen and their families all manner of health problems. To compound the situation, these nets will frequently become detached from their marker buoys and the fisherman will then have lost his most essential piece of equipment. Meanwhile the net itself becomes a “ghost net”, one of the most destructive weapons to be let loose on our fragile coral reefs.

These ghost nets continue to fish for several decades. They catch turtles and whale sharks as they drift with the current. These creatures sink to the bottom with the net and there the net trawls the reef for lobster and fish, damaging the coral in the process. As the fish rot, they bloat and the net floats to the surface where the whole destructive process repeats itself again and again.

These drift nets are the single most serious threat to Kenya’s whale shark and turtle population. As a result of this, the EAWST has launched the turtle project. It has set up a work shop with fishermen making fibre-glass turtle shell lamps. These are beautifully crafted and look enchanting on the wall. They are sold in gift-shops and hotels. With the proceeds, the EAWST buys the nets from the fishermen. The fishermen are then taught how to fish using more environmentally friendly fishing methods, specifically using bottom long-lines. This method of fishing is carried out in much deeper water and targets different deep water species. This way the coral reef is left untouched, meaning that the juveniles can grow and continue to have a productive life cycle. The fishermen can fish throughout the month and the fish is much fresher when it reaches the consumer.

You can help us by ordering one of our fibre-glass turtle shell lamps!! Or by telling all your friends…thank you.

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