Swim with Whale Sharks in the Maldives

Tropical Sky is delighted to announce that luxury resort Diva has launched an exciting new excursion, ‘Swim With Whale Sharks’, which is totally unique to the Maldives.

This exclusive tour provides adults and children alike the rare opportunity to snorkel with a team of guides and enjoy a truly amazing experience to swim with these harmless and magnificent creatures.

The Maldives is famous for its marine diversity and especially for its whale sharks, which average well over 20 feet in length. Located in the archipelago’s largest Marine Protected Area, Diva is the ideal location to spot a whale shark.

What’s more, as whale sharks are often near to the water’s surface, scuba diving qualifications are not required for this excursion. Confident swimmers, including children above the age of eight, are invited to join a team of experienced snorkel guides who lead guests through the reefs to discover the life of these enormous fish and catch a glimpse of myriads of colourful corals.

Ideal for families seeking a fun and exhilarating activity together, the Swim With Whale Sharks excursion takes place twice weekly on Mondays and Wednesdays and costs US$ 80 per person.

Located just 30 minutes by sea plane from Malé, Diva is a luxury resort on one of the Maldives’ largest natural islands, surrounded by a crystal-clear lagoon and miles and miles of ocean in shades of blue and turquoise. Diva offers seven restaurants and six bars, a luxurious spa, and an array of sport and leisure activities including fantastic watersports and world-class scuba diving. The island also offers a complete Family Experience with a host of new services, facilities and activities designed especially for families and children.

Two For The Price Of One Until 30 September
Tropical Sky offers two for the price of one on all new bookings at Diva for stays until 30 September. Priced from £1,459 per person (a saving of £700 per person) for travel in September, it includes seven nights at Diva in a deluxe room on a bed and breakfast basis, return flights from Gatwick with Emirates, sea plane transfers, taxes and surcharges.

Rates in the school holidays start from £1,669 per adult (saving £500) and £1,279 per child with return flights from Gatwick with Emirates for the same room and board basis. Book with Tropical Sky (tropicalsky.co.uk).

Article source:  www.easier.com
Picture: www.whale-shark.org

Maldives government to initiate fund for shark fishermen

The government has decided to inaugurate a fund on June 8 to encourage families depended on shark fishing find alternative livelihoods.

In a press release, Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture said experts had advised the government that the population of sharks might decrease in Maldivian waters as shark species have slow growth, late maturity, and low fecundity. Research has also shown that shark fishing has negative impacts on tourism and fishery, the two main economic activities in the Maldives, the press statement added.

Fisheries Ministry stressed that the cabinet, on March 25, decided to impose a total ban on trade and export of sharks and shark products within the Maldives industrial zone.

“This ministry is continuously working to facilitate alternative livelihoods to those who were depended on shark fishing. In this regard, it has been decided to inaugurate a fund on this year’s World Oceans Day in collaboration with the parties involved in tourism sector and NGOs, to assist shark fishermen,” the statement read.

www.haveeru.com.mv

Shark fishery banned in Maldives

Update: 3rd March 2010 [ The circular has been withdrawn and shark fishery ban would be implemented later]

Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture has imposed a total ban on all forms of fishing for any species of sharks in the Maldives waters.The ministry said in a press release, recent researches have revealed that shark finishing had negative impacts on tourism and fishery. The ministry added that sharks played an important role in maintaining the underwater habitat, as they were at the highest level in the food chain.


The press statement also read the population of sharks in Maldives was endangered, as shark species have slow growth, late maturity, and low fecundity. “The researches carried out on the situation of shark fishing in Maldives, have proved that shark species might be completely wiped out from Maldives,” the release added.



http://www.haveeru.com.mv/

Diva Maldives joins conservation project

Initiatives introduced to help fund conservation of unique whale shark habitat

Luxury resort Diva Maldives has become a flagship supporter of the recently designated FenMaaDhiguRan, the Maldives’ first fully regulated, and largest, Marine Protected Area (MPA) – home to a globally significant population of whale sharks, not to mention some of the world’s finest dive sites. The first resort located within the MPA to commit to backing the pioneering conservation project with fundraising initiatives, Diva Maldives has introduced a voluntary gratuity charge scheme enabling guests to actively contribute to the conservation of the whale sharks and their habitat.

A tropical paradise on one of the archipelago’s largest and most beautiful natural islands, with four kilometres of pristine white sand and lush tropical greenery flanked by a crystal clear lagoon, Diva Maldives enhances the picture postcard Maldivian idyll with the elusive luxury of space, and the liberty of choice. The introduction of the voluntary gratuity charge scheme underlines Diva’s commitment to protecting the whale sharks and their habitats, while helping the new MPA to generate improved business, education and employment opportunities for the local community.

Established following successful lobbying by the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme conservation charity, the MPA was officially designated by the Republic of Maldives government in July 2009. The MPA is 42km in length and, through proper regulation and educational community initiatives, will protect important habitats and species in this area from threats including overfishing, unregulated tourism and pollution, and help the local community to protect their natural resources for future generations.

traveldaily.co.uk

Sponsor a Whale Shark this Christmas in Maldives

Stuck for gift ideas this Christmas? The Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme (maldiveswhalesharkresearch.org) has come up with a new twist on the stocking filler with a whale shark sponsorship scheme. The UK charity has created this new scheme to fund their ongoing research and keep the project alive with help from The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island.

The whale shark sponsorships provide a memorable Christmas present and one that will bring great pleasure to those interested in conservation and wildlife, as well as people who are interested in seeing these enormous creatures in their natural habitat. As well as 122 Whale Sharks currently in the database, there are also a small number of whale sharks without names at present, allowing sponsors to give them whatever name they desire!



Sponsors will have exclusive access to information regarding their whale shark including when and where they have been sighted and how much they have grown. A certificate will also be sent upon sponsorship of a whale shark thanking the sponsor for their contribution and explaining where their money will be spent.

The dedicated MWSRP team will be returning to their research site on the South Ari Atoll in the Maldives in December to continue their important research and MPA (Marine Protected Area) development work with stakeholders and the local community.

The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island will once again provide support by giving the team accommodation on a local island, supplies, as well as diving equipment and the use of their boats. Guests at the resort will also be able to take part in the research by accompanying the team on their excursions to study the whale sharks, taking samples and measurements and assisting the team with their conservation work.

The not for profit organisation has already paved the way in establishing new whale shark guidelines in the country, with the Maldivian government requesting that their direction and hard work establishes community and tourism industry guidelines to protect the vulnerable species.

A 12 month Whale Shark Sponsorship scheme is available for a donation of $200. For more information on the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme – Registered charity number 1130369 – visit the website mwsrp.org/adopt-a-shark/

For more information on the resort visit conradmaldives.com.

easier.com

Sharks worth more in the water than on a plate

Sharks are worth far more to the Australian economy alive than they are on a platter served up with chips or as a filling ingredient in soup, WWF-Australia said today.

"Shark tourism is a growing phenomenon but unfortunately shark populations are not," said WWF- Australia's Reef to Rangelands Policy Manager Nick Heath.

"Shark populations are at dangerously low levels in parts of the Great Barrier Reef, with estimations placing reef shark populations at 3 to 12 per cent of their original size in some 'regular use' areas.

"This is simply not good enough. We must do more to protect these top predators from disappearing on our watch, if not for the benefit of the environment, then at least for the benefit of the back pocket."

A recent James Cook University study funded by the Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility found potential shark sightings to be a major drawcard to the diving sector, with tourists willing to pay thousands of dollars to see a shark in its natural environment.

The study found the average live-aboard dive passenger spent at least $5,000 while in the Cairns / Port Douglas area of Far North Queensland, with many attracted to the region by the opportunity to view sharks in the wild.

The researchers estimated up to 25 per cent (or $1,375) of each visitor's expenditure was directly attributable to the opportunity to see sharks.

Internationally, similar results have been recorded. A study in the Maldives - a popular tourist and diving destination in the Indian Ocean - estimated the value of one grey reef shark to be worth US$3,300 per year to the Maldivian tourism industry as opposed to the one-off value of US$32 to a fisherman.

"A guaranteed shark sighting is worth its weight in gold to the tourism industry," Mr Heath said.

"It is believed up to 500,000 divers photograph and swim with sharks every year. Not only are shark sightings considered to be one of the most significant of all wildlife interactions but the predator's presence at the top of the food chain is critical to ensuring a healthy and sustainable marine environment."

The JCU research found divers most wanted to see a hammerhead shark in the wild, followed by the whale shark and tiger shark.

Sharks are under particular threat due to their conservative life history traits which are characterised by slow growth rates, late sexual maturity, long gestation periods and birthing only a few young at a time.

They are also particularly threatened by overfishing, accidental bycatch and habitat loss.

fto.co.za

Maldives to ban reef shark fishing by March 2010

When Maldives Minister of State for Fisheries and Agriculture stood up to speak at the South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission steering committee meeting in Mombasa, he talked extensively about the shark and how the tiny archipelago is changing its fortunes from the sea creature.

But to the surprise of many, especially the Kenyan delegation, the minister, Dr Hussein Rasheed Hassan, explained that his country was in the process of banning fishing of sharks from its waters, making it the first nation in the region to make such a move.

The majority of states in the region do not attach such value to the sharks.

But in Maldives, where the number of sharks has plummeted in recent years due to their killing by fishermen targeting them for their lucrative fins, the predator are a key feature of the tourism sector.

In 1998, a 10-year moratorium banning shark fishing was imposed to cover the seven atolls where tourism had been established on the assumption that many tourists visited the Maldives to see sharks.

However, with the spread of tourism to almost all islands in the country, the ministry decided to expand the ban to encompass all reef sharks fishing across the Maldives within a 12 nautical mile radius (22km).

Dr Hassan said the Maldives government has now given a one year notice of a total ban on reef shark fishing by March 2010.

“We have realised that it is more economically viable to leave the shark and other sea creatures unharmed because the country currently earns about $7 million annually from the diving industry,” Hassan said.

The reason for the ban, he said, was to increase the stocks and add value to diving tourism and attract more tourists who visit the islands for their beautiful underground coral gardens.

“The marine ecosystem is very fragile and that is why we have to regulate activities that coupled with the treats of climate change could adversely affect the major sources of income for the country,” he said.

Dr Hassan said that, today, the country receives tourists twice its 350, 000 population every year.

In Maldives, sharks have a particularly valuable role in the tourism industry, which generates some 30 per cent of the country’s GDP.

According to surveys, about 30 per cent of tourists visit the Maldives for its underwater marine with life, viewing sharks and manta rays as their top priorities.

theeastafrican.co.ke

Maldives sets up zones to protect whale sharks

The Maldives has marked three sea protected areas that limit fishing and diving to safeguard rare whale sharks in waters around the islands, the government said Tuesday.
Environment Minister Mohamed Aslam announced the protected zones to mark the World Ocean Day, which fell Monday. The zones will have only limited fishing, while strict guidelines apply to diving and snorkeling.

Speed limits will be imposed on boats to prevent lacerations on the shark, and waste management programs will be initiated in surrounding islands to stop pollution, a government statement said.

"The marine environment is the bedrock of our economy, supporting our largest industries, tourism and fisheries. Not only will this initiative protect whale sharks, but also other mega fauna including manta rays and reef sharks," the statement quoted Aslam as saying.

Whale sharks _ the world's largest fish species _ are listed as a threatened species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, the world's largest conservation network.

Considered harmless, the whale shark can live up to 100 years and can grow to 46 feet (14 meters) long _ as long as a bus. It is normally found in parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Maldives Whale Shark Research Program has counted 120 whale sharks and said they could be seen throughout the year around the islands.

In March, the Indian Ocean archipelago banned reef shark hunting to bolster its tourism industry.

www.etaiwannews.com

Tagging whale sharks in the Maldives

Somewhere around us in the incredible turquoise and blue-black waters of the Maldives, the planet's biggest fish is swimming by.

Reaching lengths of up to 20m and sporting a dramatic checkerboard pattern of bright polka dots, you'd think that spotting a whale shark would be easy.

But we've been peering into the water for three hours now and so far, nothing.

We're cruising up and down a known shark aggregation zone, a stretch of the Indian Ocean outside the island necklace of South Ari atoll, one of 26 coral formations that make up the Maldives archipelago.

On board are conservation biologists Richard Rees and Adam Harman from the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme and the tagging expert accompanying them, Brent Stewart, of Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute in San Diego, US.

Brent has tagged everything from seals to sea birds to learn more about their lives, and he's also tagged a group of whale sharks off Kenya.

This project, which began last year, is the first attempt to tag whale sharks in the Maldives and the team is hoping it will reveal precious information about the little-studied fish.

Spot the difference

Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus ), first discovered in the 1800s, are found throughout the tropical oceans, but relatively little is known about their behaviour, how long they live, their breeding habits, or their migratory routes - or indeed whether they migrate.

The group is keeping an open-access database of the sharks. This means that each time one is found, one of the researchers will free-dive down to take a picture of it between the fifth gill and the side fin on both left and right sides.

Using software similar to fingerprint-matching technology, the snaps of the shark's spot patterns are compared to see if it has previously been photographed or is a new find. So far they have recorded 106 on the database, all but two of which are male.

But before they can be snapped, we need to find them, and we're not the only ones searching. Speedboats frequently whiz past us carrying resort tourists on whale shark-spotting trips.

The activity is increasingly popular and has become big business here, which Richard thinks may be related to the number of boat impact injuries sustained by the sharks.

In a survey Richard's team recently completed, more than 75% of whale sharks recorded in the area had scars or wounds from boat damage. They are especially vulnerable because they swim slowly and close to the surface....read more

news.bbc.co.uk

Maldives Fisheries Ministry bans reef shark fishing

The ministry of fisheries and agriculture has extended the moratorium on reef shark fishing to cover the whole of the Maldives, as part of a historic move towards a total ban on both reef and oceanic shark hunting.

A ten-year moratorium was imposed in 1998 to cover the seven atolls where tourism had been established on the assumption that many tourists visited the Maldives to see sharks.

But with the spread of tourism to almost all atolls in the country, the ministry has decided to expand the ban to encompass all reef shark fishing across the Maldives.

Marie Saleem, a reef ecologist at the marine research centre and one of those at the forefront of the campaign to ban shark hunting, said she was both “excited” and “relieved” to hear that the efforts of those who had been pushing for a ban were “finally fruitful”.

Reef shark populations would now need to be monitored as a matter of urgency in order to observe the effectiveness of the ban, she said.

Total ban

Abdullah Nasir, permanent secretary of the fisheries ministry, has said: “The fisheries law clearly tells us that we can protect any marine species if we feel that it’s threatened or endangered for any reason.”

Although oceanic shark fishing is yet to be prohibited by law, Nasir said the ministry was “working towards that” and had set itself a target of banning the export of shark products, both oceanic and reef, within one year.

“We have taken very strong action against the protection of sharks simply because they were protected worldwide and are very important for tourism.”

As sharks reproduce at a slow rate their populations cannot handle large-scale fishing pressure.

Speaking to Minivan News in December, Guy Stevens, senior marine biologist at Four Seasons resorts, said: “It takes decades and decades for the shark population to recover, but it doesn’t take long to wipe out.”

NGO Shark Alliance estimates tens of millions of sharks are killed globally each year either as by-catch or intentionally. The lucrative market for shark fins in Asia, where shark-fin soup is considered to be a delicacy, is believed to be increasing each year.

Livelihoods

One of the hurdles faced by the ministry is the need to find alternative livelihoods for the 100 or so fishermen whose incomes depend on shark fishing.

“We need to work with the fishermen to identify alternative livelihoods and to compensate them,” said Marie.

“I feel that the tourism industry should play a large role in this change and take the responsibility of compensating the fishermen as they are the ones reaping the benefits out of the loss of fishermen.”

Nasir said the government was in the process of finding other means of income for these fishermen.

Robert Tomasetti, a marine biologist at Banyan Tree resort, has said that as shark fishing is not a traditional fishery, the ban should be easier to enforce than the ban on turtle hunting.

“I think that there are only about 100 to 200 shark fishermen and it’s mostly seasonal; other times of the year they will be fishing tuna. Whenever we take something away, we have to provide another source of income.”

Enforcement

Tomasetti stressed the importance of making the leap between “rhetoric and reality”. He said although the move showed live sharks were more valuable for tourists than dead sharks, the ban on sea turtle hunting had proved ineffective.

“I think it’s a success but I just hope it will be followed through with action. This government seems to be very environmentally friendly.”

One of the ways in which the ban will be enforced is by monitoring exports. But, said Tomasetti, “It’s difficult unless you are a specialist or trained well, to tell the difference between fins of some species and another.”

He said it was possible fishermen would hunt reef sharks and palm them off as another species, which is why a total ban was essential.

“Ocean fishery is generally less targeted because of the cost of fuel but maybe they will shift towards these sharks because they can’t fish reef sharks.”

The extension to all atolls will help the ministry of fisheries check and control reef shark hunting, said Nasir. He added the responsibility of enforcement would need to be shared by atoll offices and the police as well as the ministry.

The ministry would ensure customs staff received further training so officers could learn to spot different shark-related products, he said.

"Tremendous"

A recent report by Stevens noted nationwide whale shark excursions were responsible for generating around US$10 million annually while shark hunting produces about US$100,000 a year.

Mohamed Sim Ibrahim, the secretary general of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry, said the effect of the ban on the tourism industry would be “tremendous”.

The long-term effect on the revival of the shark population would need to be monitored along with its impact on tuna fisheries.

Crudely put, observations have shown a positive link between shark and tuna populations, he said.

“Instead of reducing these species or hunting them to extinction, we are thinking positively about conserving them and keeping them, adding more value to the tourism experience.”

According to Sim, around 30 per cent of tourists visit the Maldives for its underwater marine life and in addition to manta rays, sharks would be “their number one priority”.

Maldives moves to protect whale sharks

divemagazine.co.uk

The Maldives has taken the first steps towards establishing a protected area for whale sharks. The government-backed initiative is being supported by biologists, diving professionals and representatives of the local community.

For years, the Maldives has been renowned for its whale shark encounters, which, while not as seasonal as those of the Seychelles, occur throughout the atolls during most of the year. Several locations - notably the exposed outer reef of South Ari Atoll - have emerged as whale-shark hotspots and attract boatloads of snorkellers on a daily basis.

Spearheading the move to organise and regulate these encounters is a group of local biologists who have formed the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme (MWSRP). Since 2006, this group has been investigating the populations and behaviour of whale sharks in the Maldives through photo-identification, prey surveys and by taking part in an international genetic analysis and tagging project.

So far, a database of 100 individual sharks has been compiled and is being used to track the movements of these sharks around the atolls. The group is also investigating stories of other whale shark hotspots across the archipelago: it is thought that the sharks journey around the Maldives in order to find seasonal eddies that concentrate their favourite food - zooplankton - into relatively small areas. The long-term plan is to establish protected areas in which snorkelling and boat activity will be controlled, and the sharks will have a refuge from open-ocean fisheries.

A meeting was held at the end of 2008 to consider ways of protecting the sharks and ensuring that all boats conform to a code of conduct.

Petition Calls For Total Ban On Shark Hunting Maldives

A marine conservation laboratory has sent a petition to ban shark hunting and the harvesting of sea turtle eggs to Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) demanding they lobby the government to take action. Marine biologists at the Banyan Tree resort conservation lab prepared the appeal and asked for a complete ban on shark hunting and the harvesting of sea turtle eggs as well as greater enforcement of protection for sea turtles...

The law at this moment gives protection to reef sharks but not to ocean sharks, as there is an assumption that these are the sharks the tourists come to see. “But the end result,” said Stevens, a senior marine biologist at Four Seasons resort, “is that we have someone at customs who can’t tell the difference between a shark caught in a reef and in the ocean. And it’s continued to the point where there’s nothing left. It takes decades and decades for the shark population to recover, but it doesn’t take long to wipe out.”

“We have gone from having guaranteed shark sites to not having any sharks at all.”, he said. With the result that shark hunting has affected lots of the local prime dive sites.

Stevens fears that a total ban on shark hunting might lead to fishermen passing off manta ray fins as shark fins. He would like to see protection for the rays as well as the sharks. “Resort managers and dive operators all want shark hunting to be stopped. We should all bombard the new government with positive constructive advice." said Stevens, “The government has an ethical responsibility to do something for future generations.”