Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Greetings after a long time! Â Volker and I are finally here on Holbox Island 4 hours north of Cancun, Mexico. It was a lot of work but we managed to raise the funds to get here and as you can imagine it was a monster trip all the way from Diani Beach, Kenya. The conference starts next week and we are looking forward to it hugely. We will get a chance to present our work and show how much we have done since the last conference 3 years ago. It is exciting because we really have done an enormous amount! We also get a chance to meet up with all our whale shark friends and learn about what they have been doing in their parts of the world. It will be a fascinating global showcase of whale sharks research and conservation efforts. I promise to upload some photos to keep you all posted on this the 2nd International Whale Shark Conference in history. Thanks and do keep reading our blog!
There is good news and bad news this morning. The good news is that the last tag we deployed last year has come off after one year on a whale shark. It was scheduled to pop off about 2 weeks ago when we started this year’s expedition. We heard nothing and were beginning to fear for the worst but it came off late last week and has been transmitting data ever since. This is really exciting because there is never any guarantee that you will get any data back. Sometimes you never hear from a tag again which is why the more you can put out there the better. We already have the other 2 from last year back - but they came off early after 6 months or so (also better than never coming off or getting lost etc) but with tag 3 from 2007 we will get the full year’s data which is brilliant. However, we believe it came off somewhere near Pemba Island and was transported to a location just north of Mombasa in an area called Shanzu. Again this is more good news because if they come off in the big blue sea you never find them but here we have a chance because the tag is on land. We have been searching there every day since Saturday, handing out posters, talking to people and generally trying to track the tag down! We know it’s there because Brent is sending us GPS coordinates using the ARGOS satellite system but so far we can’t find it. We are dependent on the goodwill of the fishing villages up there to help us. If we got this tag back it would mean we could get to the minute data of that shark’s life for 365 days. It would be Christmas for Brent! It is really very unusual to recover tags - if they pop off we get a summary of the data which is not at all bad. If you get them back you get ALL the data plus you can reuse the tag again. It is the best possible outcome. So the bad news is that so far we have not tracked down the tag. It’s a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack. We have a film crew following our search today and we are hoping that whoever has it will hear about the search and return it to us. Another tag has also come off - one of this years tags. This happens sometimes and although it is a bit disappointing because obviously we would have liked to get 17 tags worth of data in 9 months - 12 months time we must be prepared for these little hiccups. This tag came off further north of Mombasa, actually near Kilifi. Again we have been up there to search and that area is more remote so we are hoping that our posters and constant presence up there will yield results. If we were to get this tag back we could use it again next year and Brent would be delighted! The tags only transmit for about 2 weeks maximum because then the battery life dies so we don’t have much time left. Here is a picture of what a satellite tag looks like. They are about as long as from the tips of your fingers to your elbow more or less. If you find one please make our day and send it back to us!! Ours all have Brent’s name and contact details on them. If you can help us with our search in any way please let me know.
Wish us luck with our search!
Rough weather really impeded us yesterday and reminded us sharply of how the elements have a direct bearing on our work. We went out on 2 trips, morning and afternoon and spotted a total of 3 sharks. We were able to tag just one. Nobody but Volker got to swim with the shark and everyone had to brave very choppy waves and high winds. Our kite surfer friends were delighted with the wind, skipping around with glee, doing all manner of down winders! On board we had KWS officials and researchers, students from Lulu High School, a representative from Pollmans TUI and a collection of hardcore divers. We continue to tag today before driving up to Watamu later this afternoon to continue up there until Friday. Total tags deployed now at 9. We are all but half way through the 19 tags so that is at least something. Will post later on today’s tagging efforts. Pray for calm.
Day 3. Volker left home very early, around 7am to go up in the gyrocopter to do a survey and shoot some footage from the air. I left later with David and Simon our volunteers and David the KWS spotter. We collected jerri cans of fuel for the gyro. I ate my breakfast as we drove. We had representatives from the Kenya Tourist Board, Nation Media, Kenya News Agency and the well-known columnist Rupi Mangat as well as several members of the public and some students from Waa Girls School. They team spotted 5 whale sharks today and Volker tagged 2. Our volunteer from Geneva, David, went down with his super smart camera on scuba and found himself under the shark. He said he just hung there midwater, completely awestruck. In his words, “a moment of grace”. Suspended in time, under the planet’s biggest fish. He has pictures which I hope to upload later for you but the conditions aren’t the best for underwater photography or videography. Volker is determined to get some footage tomorrow and Brent will film while Volker tags. Part of me can’t believe this is all really happening and that we have tagged 5 sharks in 3 days. A moment of grace.
Brent and Volker yesterday, getting their gear ready on the boat. Volker tagged the 2 sharks yesterday. His first ever tagging, and a real success!
This is Mike the gyrocopter pilot and David the KWS spotter with Volker, just about to take off on day 2 of the expedition. I have just heard from the team and although they have spotted a shark, no tagging so far on day 2.
More updates for you later!
I met today with the KWS Kisite Marine Park Warden, Yussuf. This was the first time we met and it was nice to put a face to a name. We resolved to push for an MOU between the EAWST and the KWS. Our ultimate goals are to illegalise the whale shark trade in Kenya, carry out an aerial survey and put in place a proper system for whale shark eco-tourism in our waters. Lots to do! I also met our super star local pilot Peter Zanetti, who has so selflessly helped with us with our whale shark tagging. He flies up and down tireless, spotting sharks and guiding the boats to the hot spots, keeping everyone happy both researchers and tourists alike! And BIG news! Our researcher, Brent Stewart, has just arrived all the way from San Diego, California. It was wonderful to see each other again after a year of planning, emailing and hoping. He endured a 30 hour plus flight to get here and arrive in one piece, amazingly. Our gyrocopter pilot, Mike Cheffings, also arrived in one piece, perhaps more amazingly (!!), all the way from Langata in Nairobi. It took him 5 hours to fly down to Diani and he landed on the beach in front of Aqualand with style. We were all agog at this little green helicopter circling for a bit and then landing right in front of us. Brent arrived with all manner of goodies - high tech radios, tags, chocolate! We toasted Expedition 2008 - Ronnie the manager of Pinewoood Village, providing the accomodation to the team; Volker Bassen our founder and local expert; Simon Englefield, director of Southern Cross Scuba and Camp Kenya, providing the boat and other logistical support; Simon and Ruth our volunteers. It is the beginning of something special - we could all feel that. Ready, steady, TAG!!
The political situation in Kenya (much as we all try to keep positive and put our best foot forward) has affected the country from top to bottom. I can’t speak for everyone but I can tell you that although things have more or less returned to normal in Diani and there is food on the shelves and petrol in the petrol stations (I can’t believe that things ever got to the stage where I can write that last line) there are effectively no tourists. The hotels should be packed, the boats should be full, this quiet beach should be heaving. I would be the first to admit that mid-December I couldn’t wait for the low season, couldn’t wait for the beach to return to normal but no-one ever thought for a second things would turn out the way they have. The hotels are empty; hundreds of people have lost their jobs; the boats lie idle; dive schools are completely still; many people are moving their operation to Tanzania. There is no-one here. I think I speak for most people when I say that we are all trying to be positive and go on as normal but when you rely on the tourist trade (an so many of us do, directly or indirectly) it is a real slap in the face. Our scientist team coming in February is considering postponing and although we are trying to persuade them that everything is ok, I couldn’t blame them if they did postpone. Who would actively choose to go to a country suffering political unrest? I remember landing in Yemen (yes, Yemen!) on September 11. Enough said. You read about Zimbabwe and other torn apart places but until it happens to you I think you have no idea. I was talking to someone who told me that their neighbour’s house was completely looted - everything was taken. Purely on the basis of tribe. She witnessed the whole thing. There are no words. So I say that there is no rest for whale sharks because our work is severely hampered by the political situation. There is so much we want to do for whale shark conservation in Kenya but while things are the way they are our hands are somewhat tied, no doubt about that. Don’t forget we wanted this to be the year that the whale shark trade was banned completely in Kenya. We wanted Kenya to set a shinning example. (Ha ha - such irony.) No rest for whale sharks because we will keep on doing the little we can on the ground here in Diani. We will deploy satellite tags. We will set up our first ever accoustic array. We will continue our work in the community. And no rest for whale sharks because no matter what goes on here on Kenyan soil, the whale sharks will keep swimming along our shores. And there must be some comfort in that.
When I read this blog http://thelastwhale.blogspot.com I thought for a moment that I was perhaps reading back in time. My mind could not grasp the fact that so called civilised nations are involved in mass whale slaughter. I had admittedly had an incredibly long, hot day in Mombasa but I could not quite link the words I was reading to something that is actually happening in our world today. “Japan’s whaling fleet today left Shimonoseki, a western port town, to start a new season of whaling in Antarctica. The whalers intend to take more than 1000 whales over the next four months. Japan has added 50 humpback whales to the kill list this year, a species protected from commercial hunting for more than 40 years. The fleet is led by the Nisshin Maru which has been repaired since a fire that forced Japan to cut short its last Antarctic hunt.
Both the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Greenpeace have said they will have ships in the Antarctic this season.
Greenpeace’s Esperanza ship will track the whalers in Antarctic waters, shooting video footage to show the public.
The mass killing of whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary has been deemed to be unlawful according to three separate panels of international, independent legal experts, commissioned by IFAW.”
I read one comment that read “Sink the ships and show no mercy”. Very tempting! Very tempting indeed!
I remember being told once that “the sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy or too impatient. To dig for treasures show not only impatience and greed but lack of faith.”
Please go the blog spot above and do what you can to help this put a stop to this madness.
This skit/dance was presented by FPF Kaya Academy on the last day of our art exhibition. They adapted the words of a popular song “Jambo, jambo bwana!” to reflect the need for marine conservation. Loosely translated from swahili, their song went something like this: Hello mister! How are you? I am very fine! All our visitors are very welcome. We have no worries here in Kenya. The fish are trouble free and our marine vegetation is in good form too! There are no problems here!! Hakuna matata!! (No worries!)
Check out these pictures done by our school children and presented at the art exhibition! Prepare to be wowed!!
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Nimu Njonjo and Volker Bassen report daily on efforts to save the worlds largest fish. Join our marine research, tagging and following whalesharks in Diani Beach, Kenya.
