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Seychelles
whale shark monitoring newsletter
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Jun 2007 Vol
5, No. 2
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Apologies
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The
Marine Conservation Society of Seychelles would like to
apologise to its subscribers for not printing
issue 5.1 of Sagren in March 2006. This was due to
logistical constraints.
Issue 5.2 has been enlarged to make up for this.
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Breaking
News
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The
planned meeting to develop a conservation strategy and
plan for Migratory sharks, due to be held in Seychelles in
January, has been postponed until the end of the year.
Conservationists
have been disappointed in the delay, this is the second
time the meeting has been rescheduled.
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NOTICE
BOARD |
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Whale
Shark Sightings
Jan - Jun 2007
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In-water Sightings
1 Reported sighting
1 in-water encounter
0 shark identified
0 shark sexed
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Aerial
Survey |
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Aerial
surveyy flights will resume in August 2007
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Please
send us any comments or news for inclusion by clicking |
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www.mcss.
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Photo Identification Reveals Some Surprises!
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The IRIS
visual comparison of S208: original sighting in
2001 compared to an image taken on 23rd October
2006 showing the matched spot patterns on each
image.
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The
introduction of the Interactive Individual Identification
System, IRIS as it was known, photo-identification
software to the Marine Conservations Society Seychelles
Whale Shark Programme during the last season has already
brought to light one or two surprises!
Prior to 2005, images were scanned from photographs
or slides and as such were limited in number. Since 2005,
with the advent of affordable digital photography, the
photo ID project was viable and almost every whale shark
encountered by the programme was photographed.
Project leader, whale shark researcher David Rowat,
has now compiled all the identification photos of
individual whale shark encounters from 2001 through to the
end of last season, i.e. 2006. A total of 9,168 images!
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Full article>> |
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| Are
Whale Shark Populations
in Decline?
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Recent
publicity in the Australian media has highlighted a report
that was published in the Journal of Animal Ecology
earlier this year about estimating population trends in
the world’s largest fish. The media interest stems from
the fact that the original report is based on the study of
photo-identification and recapture studies at Ningaloo,
Australia’s world renown whale shark site, and suggests
that the population of whale sharks there is declining.
The scientific publication by Bradshaw, Mollet and Meekan
describes how data from the re-sightings of whale sharks
over a 12 year period was used in 16 population model
combinations and that in 10 of these the population was
projected to be in decline.
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Full
article>> |
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| New
Microlight for MCSS Whale
Shark Monitoring Programme |
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A
new micro-light aircraft will be being used on the MCSS
whale shark monitoring programme this year. The current
Aquilla aircraft is being retired after 10 years of
faithful service. Although the ZU-BHH is still perfectly
functional having had a wing change and three engine
changes during the last five years, the Underwater Centre,
who own the aircraft, have decided that it is best to
replace her with a newer version to avoid increased
maintenance costs and potentially lost monitoring time.
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Full
article>> |
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| Second
International Whale Shark Conference |
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The
National Commission of Natural Protected Areas of Mexico (CONANP)
has announced that it will be organizing the second
International Whale Shark Conference to be held from the
25 to the 30 of August 2007 in Isla Holbox, Quintana Roo, Mexico.
The
National Commission of Natural Protected Areas of Mexico (CONANP)
has announced that it will be organizing the second
International Whale Shark Conference to be held from the
25 to the 30 of August 2007 in Isla Holbox, Quintana Roo, Mexico.
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Full
article>> |
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| Save
Our Seas Foundation Support for MCSS Whale Shark Programme |
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MCSS
are pleased to announce some very good news with respect
to funding and support for the whale shark monitoring
programme for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. The Save Our Seas
Foundation has extended the funding it has provided over
the last two years for a further two years. This funding
is aimed primarily at developing a satellite tagging
technique that does not require the use of tethers or
immobilising the study animal that will help define the
migratory paths of whale sharks from Seychelles and
identify the factors affecting their movements.
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Full
article>> |
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| D'Arros
Island Loan Sophisticated Instrument to MCSS |
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D’Arros
Island and the D’Arros Research Station have agreed to
extend the loan of their Valeport ECM/CTD unit to MCSS for
a further season. This advanced oceanographic monitoring
instrument measures temperature, conductivity, and depth
as well as current flow, allowing a profile of the marine
environmental conditions to be constructed. These profiles
provide information about how water masses change over
time and for MCSS, they may help in unravelling the
reasons why whale sharks exhibit certain behaviour in
specific areas.
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Full
article>> |
| If
you see a whale shark.... |
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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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More details>> |
| Adopt
a whale shark.... |
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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.
Adopt
me !
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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More details>> |
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