The IUCN/SSC Shark Specialist Group
Shark News 11: July 1998
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Whale shark management programme, Western Australia
Jeremy Colman, Department of Conservation and Land Management, Western Australia
The Western Australian Government recently released a management
programme that will ensure ecological sustainability for one of the
most important nature-based tourism activities in the region - whale
shark interactions at Ningaloo Reef.
A seasonal aggregation of whale sharks occurs in the
waters of the Ningaloo Marine Park from March to May
each year and this predictable occurrence has led to the
development of a small but expanding tourist industry,
focusing on human/whale shark interactions. The whale
shark is a protected species within all Western Australian
waters. From 1993 onwards, commercial whale shark
tourism within the marine park has been managed by the
Department of Conservation and Land Management
(CALM) through a system of controls, including the
licensing of a limited number of operators for whale
shark interaction tours. Currently, there is some demand
for an increase in the number of interaction licences,
over and above the 14 existing licences.
It is unclear whether increased tourism pressure is
presently generating any short or long-term detrimental
impacts on individual sharks or the group as a whole.
The natural variability in whale shark abundance and
distribution, the reasons for the aggregation at Ningaloo
Reef, and the carrying capacity of the industry are all
unknown. Consequently, evidence of any impacts is
difficult to obtain and interpret.
With the limited information currently available a
precautionary approach to management has been
adopted, and a restriction on the number of commercial
interaction licences has been adopted as the main strategy
for managing tourism pressure until more information is
available from current and future research work.
The management programme provides an overview
of the information available on the biology and ecology
of the whale shark and describes the reasons for
management. It establishes management objectives,
reviews current management controls and compliance
monitoring procedures, and describes future management
actions. It also details the research necessary to gain a
better understanding of the animal's population biology,
ecology and the natural variability of its environment,
and the monitoring required to determine if any impacts
are occurring as a result of increasing tourism pressure.
The objectives of the programme are, in the short-term, to
improve the management of whale shark interactions, and in the
long-term, to provide the scientific basis to determine if the
management strategies need to be modified to minimise any
impacts.
Once more detailed information is available and appropriate
monitoring programmes are implemented it will be possible to
better ensure that whale shark populations, particularly at
Ningaloo, are not being subjected to an unacceptable level of
disturbance, and that the development of whale shark tourism
in Western Australia's marine reserves is sustainable and
equitable.
The policies and management controls contained in the
programme are likely to provide a model for other whale shark
interaction activities that are developing elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific
region. Philippines government authorities, working with
the World Wide Fund for Nature (Philippines), are formulating
appropriate guidelines for tourism operations currently targeting
the aggregation of whale sharks in the waters of Sorsogon Province,
based on the Ningaloo 'code of conduct'. In March 1998, fisheries
legislation was introduced banning the killing of whale sharks and
the trade in whale shark meat and other products anywhere in the
Philippines (see Shark News 11 article Closure of Philippines whale shark fishery).
Swimming with Whale Sharks - The Code of Conduct
To ensure that you have a safe, enjoyable experience and to prevent the animals from being harmed or disturbed, the following code of conduct applies when interacting with whale sharks:
Swimmers and Divers must not:
- attempt to touch or ride on a whale shark
- restrict the normal movement or behaviour of the shark
- approach closer than 3 metres from the head or body, and 4 metres from the tail
- undertake flash photography
- use motorised propulsion
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Figure: The Western Australian Code of Conduct for swimmers. |
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The above is summarised from: Colman, J.G. 1997. Whale shark
interaction management, with particular reference to Ningaloo Marine
Park. Wildlife Management Programme No. 27, Department of
Conservation and Land Management, Perth, Western Australia.
J. G. Colman, Marine Conservation Branch,
Department of Conservation and Land Management,
47 Henry Street, Fremantle, Western Australia 6160.
Tel: 61-8 9432 5110; fax: 61-8 9430 5408;
E-mail: jeremyc@calm.wa.gov.au
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