Photos Another Day at the Office
"This (code) includes a limit on the number of people in the water at any one time with the sharks, minimum distances that boats and snorkellers must keep from the sharks, and definitely no touching of the sharks," Norman explained. "Industry participants are very strict on ensuring these guidelines are abided by." Although the measures appear to be working in western Australia, the World Conservation Union Red List of Threatened Species still lists whale sharks as "vulnerable to extinction." The large filter feeders continue to be hunted and sold as meat in Singapore, Hong Kong and other places. Taiwan, which used to have a major whale shark fishery, introduced a ban on whale shark hunting just this year. Taiwan joins Australia, Honduras, India, the Maldives, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa and the United States in protecting whale sharks. Roland Mau, Ningaloo Marine Park Coordinator in western Australia's Department of Environment and Conservation, told Discovery News that data collected by "spotter planes" and other tracking methods implemented by his department was mostly inconclusive about whale shark numbers, although a population decline was not suspected. "I was pleasantly surprised to read that the analysis of the data indicated a growing population," Mau said. The protective measures at Ningaloo are also in place in the Philippines. Norman hopes that, in the future, other places where whale shark ecotourism has developed will implement the conservation methods to ensure a safe future for the ocean giants. Related Links: Jennifer Viegas' blog: Born Animal |
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