IN THIS ISSUE

 Apologies for Late Sagren! 

Apologies for the late distribution of Sagren, we have been awaiting official confirmation of the Taiwan Fishery news whihc has just come through (see article 2)

Breaking News 

Conservationists have been disappointed in the delay, this is the second time the meeting has been rescheduled.

NOTICE BOARD

Whale Shark Sightings 
 Sept - Dec 2006

In-water Sightings
482 in-water encounters
317 shark identified
163 shark sexed
 (114M / 49F)
43 sharks tagged

Aerial Survey

83 flights flown
260h 51min survey time
1217 shark sightings
37 Maximum / flight

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  2006 Seychelles Whale Shark Monitoring Summary

	Whale shark feeding frenzy observed during the 2006 aerial survey. Image James Thompson

2006 was another very successful year for the MCSS whale shark monitoring programme, with a record 1305 sharks being recorded during the aerial survey flights. This year the programme was once again sponsored by the Save Our Seas Foundation and run in coordination with the University Marine Biological Station Millport (University of London).

This valuable sponsorship covered the external costs of the operation while the operational costs were met in their entirety through donations from the public participating in monitoring trips organized by the MCSS in conjunction with local dive centres and boat operators.

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Breaking news is that the Government of Taiwan have approved plans to reduce the 2007 whale shark fishery quota from 45 to 30 and also convert this into 30 tagged whale sharks not dead ones and simultaneously to cancel the quota completely for future years! As the quota for 2006 is closed this means that there will be no more intentional killing of whale sharks by Taiwan!

Regular readers of Sagren will be aware of the efforts of conservation organizations in Taiwan that have for many months be negotiating with the Authorities to stop the whale shark fishery there. Representatives of the Life Conservationist Association (LCA) and Co-Habitat have had long discussions with the Vice-Chairman Lee of the Council of Agriculture who agreed that the whale shark fishery should stop partly because of the somewhat doubtful economics of the industry with such a low legal tonnage and partly because the Taiwanese wanted to abide by the CITES listing of the species on Appendix II, which requires scientific evidence that international trade will not have a detrimental effect on the species.

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The last few months of 2006 have seen a number of whale shark strandings on beaches of South Africa’s Kwa-Zulu Natal coastline. Rob and Sam Bester from Gypsea Centre at Sodwana have advised that over a four week period from October 24th there have been a total of six whale shark strandings along their coastline.

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In a change from earlier years, the Wildlife Trust of India’s campaign to protect the whale shark became the focus of the day marking the liberation of this tiny coastal enclave in western India from 500 years of Portuguese rule. Diu became a part of India on December 19, 1961.

Vhali, the whale shark, which was adopted as the city mascot by the Diu Municipal Council in 2004, at the behest of WTI, became a part of the two-day “Diu Liberation Day Celebration 2006” held on December 19 and 20. 

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