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Whale Shark Watch (WSW) formed by Rob and Samantha Bester, celebrates 10 years of existence this year having been established in 1998. The goal of WSW is to actively collect data on Whale Shark occurrences and behaviour patterns in Sodwana bay, South Africa, thereby contributing information to management strategies for the conservation of Whale Shark in this region.
WSW is a recognised and endorsed project of the Natal Sharks Board, Marine and Coastal Management and Ezemvelo Kwa-Zulu-Natal Wildlife. Whale Shark Watch is in the process of being registered as a Not-for Profit Organisation.
As a non-funded project, Whale Shark Watch offers Interactive Experiences and Educational Awareness of Whale Sharks at Sodwana Bay to sustain data collection.
Rob and Sam have already been circulating images of their
sharks to other research groups to aid with identification
and a regional approach to whale shark conservation
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Sodwana whale shark images with distinctive
scarring circulated by the Whale Shark Watch at
Sodwana.
Images courtesy Sam & Rob Bester |
The 2007
whale shark season saw the introduction of the I3S Photo-Identification program
so that Sodwana images will now add to the database of the Indian Ocean Whale Shark population records from Mozambique
Seychelles and Ningaloo, as well as to the EcOcean global
database.
Congratulations Rob and Sam! Keep up the good work!
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