IN THIS ISSUE

Regional News

  More Whale Shark Seen of South African Coast

An aerial survey for whale sharks by the Natal Sharks Board along South Africa's Kwa-Zulu Natal coastline in November recorded 25 sharks on the northbound flight and 12 on the return. This is more than the total number seen on 12 flights in 2001-2002.

A further survey flight in early December recorded 4 on the northbound flight and 8 on the return flight.  As such it is hoped that this heralds a return of the sharks to the previous numbers found in the late 90's.

Satellite Tag for Djibouti

A Wildlife Computers 'SPLASH' satellite tag has been commissioned for deployment by the Marine Conservation Society of Djibouti. the tag has been sponsored by a grant from SCAC ( French Embassy, Djibouti). Deployment was originally scheduled for November this year but warm sea conditions and few sharks  forced this to be rescheduled. Several whale shark researchers will be in Djibouti in January to assist in the activities.

New Whale Shark Monitoring Project in Mozambique

A new whale shark monitoring project has been initiated of Tofo in Mozambique by the Manta Ray and Whale Shark trust. The whale shark project is being led by Simon Pierce who has just completed his PhD at Queensland University. He will be joining forces with Andrea Marshall who is monitoring Manta rays there.

Recently a whale shark was reported from Tofo with a spaghetti tag attached to its dorsal fin; if anyone knows which group is using this type of tagging technique please contact us so we can forward the information to Simon.

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Migratory Shark Recommendation Passed by  the CMS

The proposal to develop an international instrument to conserve and manage endangered migratory sharks was adopted at the recent meeting of the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) in November this year. The proposal was put forward by the governments of Australia, New Zealand and the Seychelles and gained strong support from the meeting with a number of countries keen to get involved in the development of such agreements. It is now listed as Recommendation 8.16/Rev.2 of the Council of Parties (COP) of the CMS.

The Recommendation will apply to all shark species that are listed in the CMS appendixes as being endangered or threatened; currently this lists the whale shark and great white shark while the basking shark was also added to these appendixes at the same meeting. 

The Recommendation paves the way to conserve and manage these migratory species throughout their range by developing agreements or Memoranda of Understanding between the countries that occur along the range for a particular species.

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	Three whale sharks inspect visitors at Bay ternay. Photo Johan Anderson

The 2005 whale shark monitoring programme in Seychelles started well with large numbers of shark arrivals at the beginning of August in the north west of Mahe. Aerial surveys started in the first week of August that confirmed good numbers of sharks in the north west area of Mahe, especially in the conception channel.

Visibility in the channel was very poor due to intense plankton blooms, however the sharks were also moving into the clearer waters of Bay Ternay and the nearby areas and provided ample opportunity for monitoring. These areas also enabled some impressive multiple shark encounters for tourists as captured on film by Johan Anderson, our microlight pilot.  

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This June the EcOcean digital photo-identification programme, used to match images of whale sharks to enable individual identification, received a prestigious award for its innovative technology.

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Please let us know! Please get as much information as possible, where when, how many, how big, what it was doing etc. then call us, e-mail us or fill out our on-line sighting form every sighting is important in building a picture of these sharks movements and behaviour around Seychelles

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By becoming a whale shark foster parent you are ensuring that research on whale sharks is continued. Your support will assist in protecting these amazing creatures and ensure that they continue roaming the world’s tropical oceans.

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Mazarin (s275): A 4½ m juvenile male whale shark tagged on the 25th January 2003 near L'ilôt Island. He has a distinct scaring pattern and is easily recognized.

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