The Marine Conservation Society Seychelles,

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The Indian Ocean has long been one of the primary sources of Whale Shark sightings and some of the earliest scientific records of whale sharks came from Seychelles. 

In November 2002, world-wide public concern about the unrestricted hunting of Whale Sharks prompted a proposal to list the whale shark as an endangered species under CITES, as had been  requested at the previous meeting. This time the species was placed on Appendix ll requiring that trade be monitored to provide data as to both population size and impact of the alleged fishery.  

Since 1996 the Marine Conservation Society Seychelles, incorporating the Shark Research Institute Seychelles, has been monitoring and tagging Whale Sharks in Seychelles waters. As a result of our efforts the Government of Seychelles has declared the shark a protected species in Seychelles territorial waters. 

2012 DJIBOUTI WHALE SHARK EXPEDITION

Funding from the GEF and the Save Our Seas Foundation has allowed the expansion of this programme  with advanced satellite tracking technology to enable far more data to be collected on this species.

Since 2005, the project has been self-funding and has established a permanent database for collecting and analyzing the environmental and ecological parameters of the whale shark population size, movements and habits in the region. This helps to provide data to substantiate the decision making process regarding fisheries, conservation and protection both locally and regionally. 

For the latest information please check out the Whale Shark Monitoring newsletter, Sagren  and our whale shark monitoring BLOG.

Photos on this page by R. Wharton and D. Rowat  

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