A peep into the deep

Dubai: After recent sightings of whale sharks this year in Dubai Marina, the Emirates Diving Association flew to Seychelles for an up-close encounter with the massive species to study monitoring methods.

Dubai could become a monitoring station for whale sharks to allow scientists to observe their movements, said Brad Norman, a founder of Ecocean, who runs a whale shark photo-ID library, during an Emirates Diving Association (EDA) lecture last year.

In collaboration with the Seychelles Tourism Board, EDA's mission was to record the tropical islands' method of protecting its environment and endemic species and learn how monitoring countries carry out research on whale sharks, said Ebrahim Al Zu'bi, EDA's environment director.

"Dubai could qualify as a monitoring point and we wanted to learn how other countries are doing it. We need government support do this and knowledge. We need technical help with tags and microlights to spot the sharks," said Al Zu'bi.

The Marine Conservation Society of Seychelles (MCSS) has carried out a whale shark tagging programme since 1996 and also allows visitors an unrivaled opportunity to swim with whale sharks and assist in their conservation.

Nearly 50 per cent of the Seychelles landmass is protected reserves with a number of marine parks set up to preserve its various underwater ecosystems of importance.

David Rowat, director of the Underwater Centre Seychelles which runs the whale shark tagging programme with the MCSS said sightings of a 'black sea monster' date back to 1768 since the Seychelles were inhabited. Fifty years later a white spotted shark was caught and the catch recorded in diaries.

"The shark was caught and sliced open. Thirty-nine live baby whale sharks were found inside. This was the first recording that whale sharks give birth to live young but it wasn't confirmed until 1977 through research," said Rowat.

Whale sharks are protected under the wild animals protection bill in Seychelles and local whale shark sightings are on the increase.

Whale shark is a coveted meat on the Asian markets, specifically in the Philippines, India and Taiwan. A seven-metre long shark, not gutted and left on a beach would sell for $70,000, said Rowat.

"This meant that fishermen would be earning more with one shark than in their entire fishing life," he said. Whale sharks are sparsely distributed around tropical seas and not well documented yet through the tagging programme more is being discovered and travelling patterns monitored, said Rowat.

Annually, Rowat said, he tags 25 whale sharks with the help of a microlight which does an aerial survey to track the sharks. Boat surveys were completely unfruitful in the beginning reporting no sightings yet the first aerial survey spotted 11 whale sharks in the same week.

"We need more info to give them protected status with CITES. Conservation groups need to prove that whale sharks are rare and need to be protected," said Rowat.

Before the excursion David Rowat explains to visitors only eight people can snorkel with the whale shark at a time as more would cause confusion in the water and probably scare the animal away.

Snorkellers are asked to take notice of scars or white spots on the whale shark as well as the number of remoras travelling with it and the number of pilot fish.

If the animal is already tagged, its number is recorded as well as an estimate of its size, age and sex. Snorkellers are asked to remain towards the tail end of the shark and not to touch or stroke it.

The tag is a numbered luminous yellow 'aquasign' made of soft silicon rubber which makes it impossible for barnacles to grip. The tag is attached to the shark's back with a long pole and literally poked into the skin.

Unfortunately on the day, the pole broke due to the pressure of the shark's body in the water and the last shark of the season to be tagged, got away.

The biggest fish

• Whale sharks are the biggest shark and the biggest fish. It is not a whale. It's mouth, which measures up to 1.4 metres wide, is at the front of its head not on the underside of the head like in most sharks.
• Have skin up to 10cm thick
• Can grow to 14 metre and weigh up to 15 tonnes. The average size is 7.6metre long
• Have about 3,000 very tiny teeth but are filter feeders and swim open-mouthed to suck in masses of water filled with plankton and microscopic shrimps
• Are slow swimmers, going no more than 5 km per hour.

Source: www.enchantedlearning.com

This is a farce. The lost whale shark in Dubai Marina was exceptional. Dubai shores are almost dead. Even in Oman there are less and less sharks and whale sharks to find. Maybe in another 30 years they will be back but at the moment there is nothing to spot.
Jay
Dubai,UAE