Hunters blamed for whale shark losses

29th May 2008, 7:00 WST

Whale sharks are becoming more scarce and smaller in the Ningaloo Reef area, according to research by Australian scientists

Scientists fear Indonesian fishermen hunting whale sharks are responsible for a 40 per cent drop in numbers along the Ningaloo Reef in the past 10 years.

“They are after the fin for the shark fin soup trade, not because they contain a lot of the material used to make the soup, but so restaurants through southern China can advertise the fact that they’ve actually got shark fin,” researcher Mark Meekan said. “The flesh of the animal is also cooked up to the consistency of tofu, in a dish called ‘tofu fish’, which is quite popular.”

Researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science, who presented their findings at the second annual Ningaloo Research Symposium at Murdoch University, are also worried by a drop in the size of whale sharks along the reef. The average of 6m to 7m observed in the 1990s has dropped to about 3m to 4m.

“That is important because the sharks don’t become sexually mature until about six to seven metres long. It’s a real worry. The population is becoming more and more composed of juveniles,” Dr Meekan said.

Deaths from ship strike could also contribute to the population decline. “Twenty-five per cent of the whale sharks at Ningaloo bear scars from ships,” Dr Meekan said. “These animals spend a lot of time at the surface, they float around. A modern container vessel moves at 25 knots, so the ship would not even notice if it hit one.”

Natural predation was not likely to account for the drop in the number of whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef.

At smaller sizes whale sharks might be pursued by killer whales, great white sharks or tiger sharks, but its thick skin makes it a difficult meal to catch.

The AIMS team used satellite tagging to track whale sharks for up to eight months after leaving Ningaloo Reef. Dr Meekan said it was alarming to find that some whale sharks travelled well into the waters of Indonesia and South-East Asia, where hunting was a real threat.

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I was on my morning run this morning and as I ran past Baobab Hotel going south I looked up at their colobridge (bridge for colobus monkeys suspended above the road) and thought of the mass destruction the hotel has recently wreaked on our ecosystem. Once upon a time they cared enough about the environment to sponsor a colobridge - what went wrong? I was thinking about setting up some sort of protest/picket line because of the massive deforestation they have caused. I was thinking of calling the KTN/Standard group. I made a mental note to talk to Gwili about it later that day. On my back going north as I passed the hotel I noticed a small crowd and saw one of them holding a suni (a type of miniature antelope) with very badly broken hind legs. I could hardly bear to look at it because it was in such extreme pain. I went to the guards’ booth and asked what was going on. They said that everything was under control so I asked if they had called the vet but nobody replied. I suggested that one of the looky loos with bikes rode quickly down to the vet’s surgery which is about 300metres away but nobody wanted to help. I asked to speak to the manager of the hotel using the phone from the guards’ booth but when I spoke to him and calmly explained the situation I was dismissed. I said that I didn’t have a car and that the animal was in real distress. He said he didn’t have a car either despite the fact that Baobab Hotel is a large, well-established resort. I asked him to call the vet or the Colobus Trust because it was before opening hours but he said he didn’t have their numbers. I was horrified by the way I was treated and by the complete lack of interest displayed by the management. Nobody came to the gate to find out what was happening. Nobody came to see if they could help the poor creature. So I refused to leave until the vet or the Colobus Trust was called. I tried being nice then I tried explaining how the hotel didn’t need any more bad publicity - please see the Colobus Trust blog for details on the devastation caused by the development of the hotel.  I even threatened to go the police and the media which got the guards a bit twitchy. I kept praying for someone I knew to drive past. Eventually after a lot of begging I convinced one of the taxi drivers to take me and the animal to the Colobus Trust. If he hadn’t agreed I would have had to walk with the poor creature in absolute agony. We put it in the back and I held onto it’s neck, trying to reassure it. It had the most beautiful dark eyes. They were bright and alert. It must have been terrified. I kept thinking that it was probably going to be put down and felt utterly heartbroken.

We got to the Colobus Trust and woke Gwili up. The creature was immediately in good hands and Gwili and his team were so kind. It was such a relief to be able to go to the Colobus Trust premises where they take such good care of animals.

I learnt later that they had to put the suni down.

I feel so sad about the whole incident. The hotel staff at the gate were not equipped to deal with the emergency although they arguably did their best. The management’s response was shocking. They should a have list of emergency numbers on hand. As a so-called eco-friendly hotel, they should jump at the chance to help animals in distress PARTICULARLY in light of the negative publicity they have had over the past few weeks (which believe it or not they have the nerve to dispute). Instead the manager I spoke to on the phone was rude and unhelpful. The worst part is that the death of the suni this morning is a direct result of the deforestation caused by their illegal development. Those little creatures have nowhere to go and so they wander onto the road or get snared in traps because they are more visible. Without the protection of dense indigenous forests, they are easy targets. It is beyond description.

 I urge you all, please read the Colobus Trust’s blog which details the illegal development this hotel is carrying out. Please contact NEMA (National Environment Management Authority) email dgnema@swiftkenya.com or dgnema@nema.gov.ke and voice your concerns. I have emailed the manager of the hotel, NEMA, KWS, the police, the Diani Residents Association and everyone else I can think of.

This one little suni is just the start if we don’t stop them.

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Quezon task force seizes cargo of alleged young whale sharks in Phillipines

By Delfin Mallari Jr.
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 16:57:00 04/07/2008

LUCENA CITY — A cargo of baby sharks, four of them allegedly from the “butanding” (whale sharks) species were intercepted in nearby Pagbilao town early Monday by a task force of provincial fishery officials and environmentalists, an official said.

Glenn Forbes, Tanggol Kalikasan-Southern Tagalog program officer, said that on Sunday evening a concerned citizen and a local government official from the coastal town of Calauag, Quezon province tipped them off through a mobile phone that several baby “butandings” would be transported to Manila.

“We were alarmed when we were told that several newly born ‘butandings’ from Lamon Bay would be smuggled out. We could not let that happen,” said Forbes.

He said he immediately alerted the Quezon Task Force Karagatan/Sagip Kalikasan headed by Allan Castillo of the provincial agriculture office and, along with several policemen, set up a checkpoint in front of the Pagbilao town hall.

At around 1 a.m. on Monday, the group flagged down a cargo jeepney being driven by one Alberto Abat.

When searched, the vehicle yielded live “lapu-lapu” (groupers) and assorted ornamental fish in several plastic bags with oxygen tubes attached to the containers.

Hidden among the piles was a plastic bag with oxygen, which contained nine newly born sharks measuring half a foot to one foot in length.

Forbes said the owner of the fish cargo, a certain Analie Abat from Barangay (village) Sto. Angel, Calauag, admitted that she owned the fish cargo, including the sharks which she also called “butanding.”

The shark has random white stripes and dots, markings similar to the “butanding.”

Abat, according to Forbes, claimed that she bought the sharks from local fishermen for P20 each and that she intended to deliver them to an undisclosed place in Metro Manila.

“Four of the baby sharks looked like ‘butanding’ but they also looked like ‘coral catfish’ shark species. We’re still awaiting the official confirmation from BFAR [Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources] if it’s really butanding,” he said.

Forbes said four were confirmed to be “long tail carpet” while the species of the remaining one was still unknown.

He expressed alarmed that if the newborn shark species were confirmed to be “butanding,” most probably they would be smuggled out of the country.

Forbes said they allowed the fish traders to be released after several hours of investigation pending official confirmation of the shark species.

However, Castillo said there was no need for the official confirmation from BFAR. “The sharks were definitely not butanding,” he said.

The “butanding” is considered the biggest shark and the biggest fish in the sea, with some measuring up to 20 meters long and weighing up to 34,000 kilograms.

Two years ago, Lamon Bay fishermen celebrated the reappearance of the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), indicating renewed vibrancy of marine life in the bay.

Whale sharks in Lamon Bay were common during the 1980s. They slowly disappeared because of irresponsible fishermen who feasted on their meat.

The group brought the shark species to TK office and placed them in an aquarium.

Unfortunately, three of the “long tail carpet” sharks died.

“We suspected that the sharks, including the groupers, were caught through cyanide fishing methods. And since they were newly born, their tender bodies were not able to withstand the toxic poison,” Zeny Bernal, TK marine office, said.

It is encouraging that this cargo was seized but really this is such sad news - obviously we hope that they weren’t whale shark pups but whatever they were, they died in horribly shocking and distressing circumstances and the threat to whale sharks all over the world remains high. Reading this article makes me feel really bleak. Please pass it on to all your friends and contacts in order to raise awareness on this issue.

This news comes hot on the heels of a request for pictures of whale shark pups - I am trying to locate the only one I have ever seen which is rows and rows of dead pups found after the mother was slaughtered. I will post it up when I find it.

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