Research To Target Threatened Whale Shark

February 20, 2006

Release from: ABC News Online (Australia)

A Western Australian Government research program is hoping to find out more about threatened species the whale shark.

The shark is targeted by Indonesian fisheries for its fins.

The Ningaloo Reef, off the state's north-west coast, is one of the only places it appears regularly in large numbers, but little is known about the biology of them.

The State Government has contributed $5 million for a Ningaloo research program.

Exmouth's Department of Conservation and Land Management's Jenny Carey says the state is leading the way in research into the fish.

"The State Government funding has attracted an additional $5-7 million from organisations such as the Australian Institute of Marine Science, CSIRO and Western Australian universities, so there'll be a large presence of marine scientists on the Ningaloo Reef commencing this April during the whale shark season and continuing over the next four years," she said.