COVENTRY (UK)- The biggest fish in the ocean, whale sharks, are incredible animals. They can reach lengths of over 18 metres and weigh more than 19,000kg. Each shark has a unique pattern of spots on its body, like a fingerprint. The number of whale sharks in our oceans has been inContinue Reading
Fishing for sharks and swimming at the same beach is not a very good combination. Especially when fishermen use chum to lure the sharks in. Warning flags could warn beachgoers and swimmers and prevent accidents. Time for a code flag for chumming? Blood attracts sharks and the more sharks inContinue Reading
Overfishing is the biggest threat for sharks in Indonesian waters. Can the protection of sharks and rays for tourism lead to more economic benefits for Indonesia? Researchers from the James Cook University (Australia), Cetacean Sirenian Indonesia, Wildlife Conservation Society Marine Program, The Zoological Society of London and the University of Oxford looked at the economic valueContinue Reading
AUCKLAND (NEW ZEALAND)- The Court of Appeal of New Zealand has ruled shark cage diving is an offence under the Wildlife Act, a move being welcomed by paua divers. Divers and tourists are less happy. With the ruling ends a long legal battle between paua (abalone) divers from Stewart Island andContinue Reading
OAHU (HAWAII)- Shark ecotourism can change people’s attitudes about sharks and make them more likely to support conservation projects – even after allowing for the fact that ecotourists are more likely to be environmentally minded in the first place. Michele Barnes, James Cook University and Sarah Ruth Sutcliffe, James CookContinue Reading
CANCUN (MEXICO)- Every year between may and September whale sharks gather off the Caribbean coast of the peninsula of Yucatan. The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources has decided to protect these gentle giants by creating an official refuge area of 633,000 hectares. The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, through theContinue Reading
OSLOB (PHILIPPINES)- Over 250,000 tourists a year come to Oslob, Cebu, in the Philippines to experience swimming with the world’s largest sharks: whale sharks. Despite the moral and ethical issues of hand-feeding these endangered sharks for tourist purposes, tourists keep coming to Oslob. That is the conclusion of a newContinue Reading