IN THIS ISSUE

The Whale Shark

A Poem 
by Tom Butcher
MCSS Volunteer

Cutting through a running world,
That rocks and swells,
Its angles, edges and spots of white,
Catch their frame in the flickering.
Slumbering in its power,
This stony blade of white and grey,
Slices among the beams and the tuna that gleam, and dull,
As they turn from its towering.

Rising to filter the foe,
Its flattened face opens and gills flare,
The sea sucked through,
As little yellow ones dance from the entrance,
And its host hurry to keep where,
They are in its shade,

With it for a time,
We wonder and stare amongst its wake,
But then its bulk is sundered from our eye,
Contorting tail and torso,
It darkens into the bank of black,
Till even the turning tail fades,
Melts into the murk from whence it came,
And will come again.

IMPORTANT!!

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WHALE SHARK ENCOUNTER POLICY, SEYCHELLES

Globally the whale shark ecotourism industry is growing and as such it is important to ensure that encounters are not only enjoyable and safe for people but also that the animal is not being harmed or disturbed. 

The initiative for the Seychelles Whale Shark Encounter Policy Workshop began with the Whale Shark Monitoring Network Workshop held in May 2003 (MCNews vol 1.1#4) during which the participants, amongst other issues, noted that the regular occurrence of whale sharks in Seychelles waters made them an ideal ecotourism resource. It was agreed that a workshop should be planned to develop an encounter policy and that existing models should be used as a basis for its development.

Encounters with whale sharks need to be safe for both people and sharks.  Photo: Udo Englehardt

Stakeholders requested that MCSS conduct an outreach programme to obtain additional viewpoints on the subject prior to the development of the policy. In addition the whale shark was declared a protected species in Seychelles waters, in January 2003, under the Wild Animals Protection Act (Sagren vol 1.3#2), highlighting the need for the sustainable management of the species.

In light of this, MCSS organised a second workshop on the 17th December 2003 to advise the public and stakeholders about the need for a whale shark encounter policy and get agreement from stakeholders in the development of a Whale Shark Encounter Policy for Seychelles. Feedback from the Whale Shark Encounter Questionnaire i.e. the outreach programme, showed that:

• The majority of respondents agreed that there was scope for an Eco-Tourism Industry using the species as the primary resource. At present, however, sharks are not in general being targeted as an ecotourism resource. 

• Current practices in terms or approaching whale sharks involves dropping clients off either ahead of the shark or along its side at a distance of <10 metres. Generally, there would be between 5-10 clients in the water at the time. In the majority of cases, the boat engine would be switched off with the boat maintaining a distance of > 10m. In the case where operators were involved dry viewing, generally a distance of <10m is maintained with the engines switched on or in neutral to follow the shark. 

• Most of the organisations questioned had encounter protocols. In the majority of cases, clients are advised not to touch the animal, not to restrict it s movements and to keep their distance from the shark, while avoiding the tail fin. None of the individuals questions were advising clients against using flash photography. 

• Generally it was agreed that the recommendations of the Australian Whale Shark Encounter Policy were a sound basis from which to develop a local encounter policy. 

The Australian Code of Conduct courtesy of the Department of Conservation and Land Management

A model Whale Shark Encounter Policy was presented and participants were asked for their feedback on all aspects of this Policy. 

Each clause was examined and changes were made to the wording of certain clauses within the model policy as per their comments.  

Following the workshop, the proceedings including the proposed Seychelles Whale Shark Encounter Policy were circulated to stakeholders for further comments. 

The stakeholder approved policy will now be proposed to Government for endorsement and for the development of appropriate legislation.